Missed Blessings

INTRO:

Recall that in chapter 25 where we read about how Jacob bought Esau’s birthright.

Remember? Esau was more concerned about the flesh, and fleshly desires than he was about his own birthright.

We also read in chapter 25 that God had told Rebekah that Jacob was going to inherit the covenant promises.

Let’s keep those things in mind as we read tonight’s text.

Genesis 27:1–29 ESV

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!”

So we know that Esau was worldly and that he was the kind of guy who only wanted what HE wanted, when he wanted it.

But when we read through this… it’s actually Jacob who ends up looking like the real scum-bag of the story.

We’re never told if Isaac was made aware of what God told Rebekah about the older serving the younger… and we don’t know if Isaac knew about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob.

We know that Isaac loved Esau, and that Rebekah loved Jacob. And I’ve heard all kinds of sermons on how playing favorites with your kids can lead to trouble… but I’ve never heard a sermon on this text that discussed how Isaac didn’t even know what was going on with his sons.

Passing the Blessing v. 1-4

The Passing of the Covenant v. 1-4

Isaac was ready to confirm the blessings of the Covenant

He planned to follow custom of the day and give it to Essau the first born.

However, there were other plans unfolding

We are never told that Rebekah told Isaac about what the Lord said, so if Isaac was told, then we could assume that he was directly rebelling against God, but we can’t assume that because there’s no record of Rebekah telling him

Jacob ends up looking like the dirt bag here, and Esau ends up looking pretty good. But let’s remember two things about Esau.

1st – we’ve already been told that he despised his birthright…

that’s why he sold it. He would rather seek instant, worldly gratification. He cared more about satisfying his fleshly desires than he cared about the covenant.

2nd – He’s breaking his oath that he had made to Jacob back in …

You can turn there and look at it if you want. He swore an oath to Jacob that Jacob would be the one to get the birthright. So in all actuality; it’s Esau who’s trying to steal the birthright.

Jacob didn’t steal it… Esau sold it to him for a bowl of stew… now Esau’s trying to steal it back.

There’s something else I want you to see here in these first verses, that again shows us that Isaac was clueless about the way his son Esau was.

He’s about to confer the covenant blessings upon a son who shows no spiritual interest in the meaning or significance of the covenant.

Most likely; Esau wanted this because of the material things he would gain. In other words; the one who got the blessing, got the majority of Isaac’s possessions. Esau didn’t care at all about the covenant with God… he was worldly and driven by his fleshly nature.

The Great Swap v 5-17

Rebekah hears what’s about to happen…

Remember, she’s the one who heard God say, “The older will serve the younger.” And she knows that Isaac loves Esau… but she loves Jacob and so she hatches this plan for Jacob to be the one who gets the blessing.

She knows that it is supposed to be Jacob who gets the blessing, but Isaac is about to give it

Options:

Ask God to intervein

Go to Isaac and share God’s promise and Essau’s character

Do things her way and “help God”

Sto Esau. Now she has options here… she could’ve gone to the Lord in prayer and asked Him to somehow intervene. She could’ve approached Isaac and told him exactly what the Lord had told her about Jacob being the one. But she doesn’t do either of those things. Instead she decides that she’s going to help God out, by doing things her way. Now the last time we saw something like that take place, we ended up with the Hagar and Ishmael mess. And Rebekah’s little plan… even though it works, ends up having some serious consequences. Esau is going to be so angry with his brother that he’s going to want to kill him. And it’s going to result in Jacob having to run away from his family, and go into hiding.

Now the last time we saw something like that take place, we ended up with the Hagar and Ishmael mess.

And Rebekah’s little plan… even though it works, ends up having some serious consequences. Esau is going to be so angry with his brother that he’s going to want to kill him. And it’s going to result in Jacob having to run away from his family, and go into hiding.

And so Rebekah hatches this devious plan to trick her husband.

It’s fairly elaborate in the details. She gets the hair from the goats and sticks it on Jacob… she puts Esau’s clothes on Jacob, she cooks up some savory goat, like Esau cooked, and then sends him in to Esau’s tent.

Jacob’s Deception V. 18-25

Jacob deceives his own father

He invokes the name of God, and lies lies to him over and over again.

I count at least three lies just in this conversation between Isaac and Jacob, and then; he even goes so far as to seal the deal with a kiss.

There’s a consequence for these sins.

Jacob is going to have to leave the Promised Land in fear of his life, and remain gone for about 20 years.

He’s going to have to live in relative poverty for those same 20 years, and be repeatedly deceived by his uncle Laban.

He’s going to seriously damage the relationship he has with his immediate family.

There are always consequences for our sins! God is not mocked!

The ends don’t justify the means. Now there are a lot of people who say, “yeah, but it all worked out in the end, so why not?”

It’s true, God does work it out in the end, but had not Jacob and Rebekah done this, then God still would’ve worked it out in the end, and there most likely would’ve been a lot less strife and hardship along the way.

What we’re seeing here in this passage is God’s sovereignty on display, but also man’s responsibility.

Everything God decrees will come to pass, and that man is incapable of thwarting the decrees of God.

While at the same time, man bears total responsibility for the choices he makes or doesn’t make.

Jacob’s Blessing v. 26-29

Despite all of Rebekah’s and Jacobs scheming and sinning; and despite Isaac’s desire to pass the blessing on to Esau, God’s sovereignty triumphs.

And that’s what we need to learn from this. What we’re seeing here is that God’s will is fulfilled in spite of man’s will.

You know… often times we think that God’s will can’t come to pass unless we somehow help Him out. But our text is showing us something entirely different. It’s showing us that our God is sovereign. He is all powerful, and all knowing, and that He will bring about what He has promised to do.

We also see God’s grace here. Because there is no way that Jacob deserved the covenant blessing. Absolutely no way! But why did Jacob get it? He was God’s choice. God willed it that way!

If you believe that God is God, meaning that He is all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent, and that He is good and just and righteous in all He does and decrees, and you believe that, and you know it, and you trust in that… then you don’t have a problem with God getting HIs way.

So Jacob gets the blessing.

And I’ll close with this. If you look at verses 28 and 29 and then go down and look at verses 39 and 40, you’ll see a big difference between the blessing that Jacob gets and the one Esau gets.

Genesis 27:39–40 ESV

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

Gen 27:

The biggest difference is that in Esau’s blessing, God is never mentioned. God makes all the difference.

The biggest difference is that in Esau’s blessing, God is never mentioned. God makes all the difference.

It’s not that Jacob was righteous, or better, or more deserving… it’s that for some reason, God willed that Jacob be the one to be brought into the covenant relationship with Him.

It’s not that Jacob was righteous, or better, or more deserving… it’s that for some reason, God willed that Jacob be the one to be brought into the covenant relationship with Him. In Romans, God said it this way, “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated.” So God’s love is the difference maker in these two brothers. God set His love on Jacob, and that love is what eventually transforms him into a man of God.

So I guess we could say it was the blessing of Gods sovereign love that made the difference between Jacob and Esau. And it’s the blessing of God’s love on you and me that makes us acceptable in His sight, and that saves us from His wrath and judgment.

says, “But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be THE propitiation for our sins.” And a little further on in 1st John, it says, “We love Him, because He first loved us.”

So as we go to the Lord in prayer, I hope and pray that you have experienced the love of God in your lives, and if not, that you will this day.

LET’S PRAY