Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction/Seeing the Need
Last week’s lesson concluded with the impulsive Esau selling his birthright to the cunning Jacob.
Following that exchange, their somewhat dysfunctional family of four tottered into the future.
By the time begins, Isaac had grown old and nearly blind.
Believing it was time to set his house in order, he called son Esau to come before him.
He expressed his desire to give Esau the special patriarchal blessing.
Such blessing is essentially a prophecy of what the future holds for the individual or people being blessed.
Near the conclusion of Genesis, Jacob blessed his sons in a similar fashion just before his death.
Jacob was a grown man, not a child, when he (with his mother Rebekah’s help) dressed up like Esau.
But this was no game for Jacob and Rebekah.
The stakes were enormously high; the patriarchal blessing, associated with future prosperity and security, was on the line.
The outcome of Jacob and Rebekah’s deception of old, blind Isaac was not laughter, the meaning of Isaac’s name.
Rather, it was anger, sorrow, and the eventual self-exile of Jacob.
It is important to note that a blessing (or curse for that matter) once spoken cannot be reversed, even if that blessing was given unintentionally to the wrong person.
This is especially so in a solemn setting such as the one in our text.
Blessing should not be confused with birthright.
The birthright (already obtained by Jacob) dealt primarily with passing down the greatest share of the family’s material wealth to the oldest son.
The blessing involved the family patriarch’s participation more directly as he requested divine favor on the person being blessed so that future prosperity and abundance would be his.
Deception Suggested -
The preface of today’s lesson is Isaac’s sense that his time is short.
He is aware of the words that the Lord spoke to Rebekah when her twins were jostling within her: “The older will serve the younger”.
Yet in spite of that declaration, he attempts to ensure that Esau receives the blessing.
But first Isaac desires a favorite meal from Esau’s hands ().
If Isaac believes his meeting with Esau is private, he is badly mistaken.
Wife Rebekah is eavesdropping.
Perhaps she has seen Esau go into Isaac’s tent and is curious as to what is going on.
Once Esau has gone out to fulfill his father’s wishes, she knows she must act - and quickly.
It is interesting to consider the description of Esau as “his (Isaac’s) son” in verse 5, while here Jacob is referred to as her (Rebekah’s) son.
This may highlight the favoritism noted in last week’s lesson.
Rebekah now proceeds to tell Jacob what she has heard.
When Isaac had spoken to Esau earlier, he had requested him to bring tasty food “that I may give you my blessing before I die” ().
Rebekah, however, includes a sacred element in her version of Isaac’s words: she depicts Isaac’s plan as being to give Esau his blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.
Perhaps this use of the Lord’s name is intended to heighten the sense of urgency with which Jacob must carry out his mother’s unfolding plan.
He must be sure to do whatever is necessary to obtain the blessing.
Jacob himself will use the Lord’s name in a deceptive way later he tells Isaac why he has been able to prepare the meal so quickly.
How should we handle a situation where someone in authority attempts to include us in an unethical plan?
Rebekah’s plan is to duplicate what son Esau intends to make.
Jacob is to secure the ingredients by which Rebekah will make Isaac’s favorite dish.
Food will be the tool to trick Isaac, in something of a repeat of food being used by Jacob to nab Esau’s birthright.
Isaac and Rebekah’s greatest parenting fault was the failure to see Esau and Jacob as “our son” rather than “my son” or “your son”.
They were part of a multi-generational parenting pathology.
What are some ways to determine whether someone’s kind words, gifts, or acts of service are selfless or self-seeking?
Deception Starts -
In the intervening verses not in today’s lesson (), Jacob’s reaction to Rebekah’s scheme is understandable.
Normally the pronouncement of a blessing involves some kind of physical contact.
The food Rebekah prepares may resemble what Esau fixes; but if Isaac touches Jacob in the process of blessing him, he won’t need eyes to know this isn’t Esau.
But as Rebekah cooks food, she also cooks up a plan; she covers Jacob’s smooth skin with the skins of the goats.
She also provides him with some of Esau’s clothing to wear.
Jacob is now prepared to see his father, though he must be the proverbial nervous wreck.
In verse 18 we see another part of the ruse must involve convincing Isaac that Jacob sounds like Esau.
Part of the plan my be for Jacob to speak as little as possible.
Jacob’s short My father is only one word in Hebrew.
Some suggest that since Jacob and Esau are twins, their voices are somewhat similar.
Although Isaac’s vision is gone, his sense of hearing seems to be in good working order - perhaps more so than Rebekah and Jacob realize.
Isaac’s ears tell him something is amiss, thus he questions the identity of the son before him, as if asking, “Which of my sons are you?”
In verse 19 Jacob continues the deception in making the two claims we see here.
Then Jacob immediately throws in the proofs of requested food and expected blessing.
As long as Isaac doesn’t suspect eavesdropping, he will assume that those two subjects are known only to him and Esau.
What do you do to ensure proper motives when seeking blessing or approval of someone you respect?
How do you know when it’s time to stop striving for unreceived approval?
Deception Succeeds -
In verse 21 we see the part of the ceremony that Jacob must be dreading the most.
Isaac is not convinced that the man before him is indeed Esau.
So he shifts the senses of seeing and hearing to that of touch.
Isaac may be blind, but he is not deaf!
Yet his sense of touch now contradicts what his sense of hearing reports.
Jacob’s degree of anxiety at this point is easy to imagine.
It must be all he can do to keep from trembling with fear discovered as an impostor.
The scheme apparently works as Isaac resolves the contradictory evidence by trusting his sense of touch over his sense of hearing.
Almost.
In verse 24, still doubting, he questions the identity of the individual before him.
Jacob seems to perceive that a short response at this point is better than a long one, and his I am is just a single brief word in Hebrew.
When Rebekah conspired with Jacob, she probably convinced herself of her good intentions.
Perhaps she thought “her” son was far more worthy of Isaac’s blessing than “his” son was.
But as the further record of Genesis reports, the consequences of the birthright exchange and blessing deception were quite profound.
Relationships and history change courses.
What can Christians do to prevent succumbing to temptations to “stretch” or “spin” the truth in difficult situations?
At what point, if ever, is “stretching the truth” with good intentions acceptable?
In verse 26, Jacob must again come before Isaac to be touched, so the anxious moments drag on.
In verse 27, all five of Isaac’s senses (or lack thereof) have come into play in this account.
His sight is gone (which affects how the deception is carried out), he hears a voice, he touches the imposter, he tastes the food, and now he smells the clothes of Esau that Jacob is wearing.
Then the deception is solidified, Isaac affirms that it is Isaac, and proceeds to pronounce the blessing the imposter desires to have so badly.
The contents of the blessing include the promise of material abundance.
In a few minutes, Isaac will mention these same things in something of an anti-blessing to Esau.
In verse 29, the blessing then turns to matters of authority and influence.
This promise may indicate how Jacob’s descendants (the Israelites) will at times dominate the surrounding nations.
Isaac is unintentionally fulfilling the prophetic word the Lord gave to Rebekah when she was still expecting: “the older will serve the younger.”
The sons of Jacob’s mother may refer to Esau’s descendants, which will be the Edomites.
Their demise before God’s covenant people will be foreseen particularly by the prophet Obadiah.
The final statement in Isaac’s words of blessing reflects the final statement in God’s original covenant with Abraham.
We do not read of any further exchange of words between Isaac and Jacob after Isaac offers the blessing.
Jacob has likely been wishing that the ceremony will end as soon as possible, aware that Esau can return at any moment.
As it turns out, Jacob scarcely leaves before Esau returns, prepares a meal for his father, and enter the tent - expecting a blessing from him.
One cannot fathom the degree of sadness and despair that Isaac feels and the degree of anger and bitterness that Esau experiences when they realize what has happened.
But God’s sovereign purpose is still being carried out.
His plan is moving forward, even in the midst of the deception and heartbreak that we see in the events of this chapter of Scripture.
How should we react to situations where we discover that someone has consciously deceived us?
Does the amount of time that has elapsed make a difference?
Why or why not?
Conclusion
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