Untitled Sermon (4)

Title: The swindler Jacob

Text: Genesis 27

1. Intro

1) 도입

- 이삭의 떨린 목소리와 에서의 울부짖음

- Isaac began to tremble violently and asks,

- Isaac: “Who are you?”

- Esau: “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau!”

- Isaac: “Your brother Jacob came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

- Esau: “He is really a swindler like his name. This is not the first time he deceived me.”

- Esau asks his father Isaac, loudly crying, “Please, please bless me!”

- Isaac: “No. I already gave Jacob all my blessings.”

- 무슨 일이 있었던 걸까요?

- 야곱이 도대체 무슨 짓을 저질렀길래, 아버지와 형이 이렇게 흥분을 하나요?

2. Text Story

1) First Scene: Isaac’s Blessing

- 오늘 본문의 첫부분에서, 나이 많은 이삭이 큰 아들 에서를 부른다.

- “Now I am old, And I don’t know the day of my death.”

- “So go out to field and hunt some wild game for me.”

- “With that, prepare me tasty food for me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing!”

- At that time, father’s blessing as a will before dying was very authoritative.

- And it was the first son’s privilege to be blessed by father.

2) Conflict: Rebekah’s Overhearing and Scheme

- But the thing is that Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was overhearing their conversation.

- Rebekah loved second son Jacob more than Esau, the first son. It’s favoritism.

- Rebekah called Jacob, and they make a scheme to deceive Isaac and Esau.

- They thought that they could deceive Isaac because Isaac could not see because of his old age.

- Rebekah orders Jacob to bring two goats in the flock, and she herself cooks tasty food as her husband likes.

- And Jacob brings and puts on one of his brother’s cloths to smell like his brother Esau.

- And Rebekah covers Jacob’s hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.

- Why? Because Esau was a hairy person, but Jacob was not. It was to deceive Isaac.

3) Jacob Deceived Isaac and Esau

- Everything’s all set to deceive his father, Isaac.

- Tasty food made of goats, Esau’s cloth, and fake hair made of goatskin.

- Jacob knocks his father Isaac’s door, and calls him, “My father.”

- Isaac: “Yes. My son,” but the voice is not like Esau. “Who is it?”

- Jacob: “I am your first son, Esau. I did as you said to me. Eat this food and bless me.”

- 거짓말 잘 하죠?

- Isaac: “How did you find it so quickly?”

- Jacob: “The Lord your God gave me success.”

- Wow! He is using the name of God to deceive his father.

- Isaac doubted him, so said, “Come near to me! I have to touch you to know if you really are my son Esau.”

- He touched Jacob! The smell was Esau’s smell, and the hands were hairy like Esau.

- So Isaac believed that he was Esau. Lastly, Isaac asks him, “Are you really my son Esau?”

- Jacob, “Yes, I am.”

!! In this way, Isaac was deceived by Jacob, and he gave Jacob the best blessings he could do.

- And Esau was also deceived by Jacob and lost his blessing to his brother Jacob in a mean way.

- That’s why Isaac trembled violently and Esau wailed with a rage.

3. God’s Sovereignty and Faithfulness

- Interestingly, although Jacob was blessed in a wrong way, God blessed Jacob and used him.

- Jacob received a lot of blessing.

- EX: a lot of animals and servants. Many children.

- Especially, he became the origin of Israel.

- Most importantly, through Jacob, the blood line of Jesus continues.

- Jesus Christ came to us through the blood line of the swindler, Jacob.

!! Despite human weakness and sins, God’s plan is accomplished, and God’s work proceeds.

!! Despite human fault, God still keeps his promise, and God is still faithful.

- This is the message of Genesis: God’s sovereignty, God’s grace, God’s faithfulness!

- We already learned how weak Abraham and Isaac were and that, nevertheless, God was still faithful to them.

4. Then, Jacob’s deceit can be justified?

1) 설명

- We’ve continuously learned that God is faithful to his covenant people in Christ.

- By the way, we might misunderstand that it is okay to live as we please, even committing sins / because God is my side and always gracious.

- Is it right?

- In today’s story, Jacob deceived his father and brother and took the blessing in a wrong way.

- Can this behavior be justified for the reason that Jacob was God’s covenant people?

- How should we understand this?

- This is a very important question because this answer influences our way of life in this world.

2) Jacob who is deceived in the way he deceived his father and brother

- If you read the whole story of Genesis, you will notice that Jacob had to pay the price of his behaviors.

- In today’s story, Jacob deceived. But after that, he is also deceived by others in his life.

- In his life, he is deceived twice decisively. Do you know when he was deceived?

- (1) His ten sons deceived him that his eleventh son, Joseph, was killed by wild animals.

- Do you know with what they deceived Jacob?

<< Gen 37:31-32 / robe (cloth) & goat

- Do you remember with what Jacob deceived his father Isaac in today’s text?

<< 27:9; 15; 16 / goat food & cloth & goatskin

!! Interestingly, Jacob was deceived in the way he deceived his father and brother.

- (2) There is another event where Jacob was deceived by his uncle Laban.

- When Jacob flew to his uncle Laban to avoid Esau’s revenge, he fell in love with the uncle’s second daughter.

- So he worked for his uncle so hard for seven years that he was promised to marry her.

- But on the wedding night, the uncle made his first daughter enter Jacob’s room instead of the second. Because it was night, Jacob could not see her face.

- Jacob was deceived by the uncle.

- Do you remember how Jacob deceived his father?

- He deceived Isaac, using the situation that Isaac could not see.

- And Jacob was also deceived because of the situation where he could not see.

- When Jacob recognized she was not his loved one, Jacob complained to the uncle with a rage, “why have you deceived me?”

<< 29:26 / He means that I cannot ignore the order. It is wrong to cut it line.

- Jacob actually had cut it line to take his brother’s blessing.

!! Jacob was deceived in the same way he deceived his father and brother.

- Goat / cloth / the situation where one cannot see / cutting in line.

!! This is God’s amazing and interesting way of paying back the wrong behaviors.

3) Our God is a righteous and just God.

- He pays back as we have done.

- This is not exceptional even to his saved covenant people.

- Even though we commit sins, God does not abandon us. He still loves us. He still keeps his promises. His work still proceeds, and his plan is accomplished.

- However, in the process, we will have to pay the price of our sins. Because God is a just God who pays back as we have done. This is a kind of discipline rather than punishment or judgment. “Rod of love”

!! Remember! Although we are covenant people in God’s faithfulness, we must not live as we please.

- Just as Jacob had to pay the price in the same way he did, what we do will return to us surely in our lives.

5. Application

1) Don’t sin!

>> Don’t commit a sin!

- EX: the saying “The more experienced you are, the better off you are.”

- A lot of and a variety of experiences are beneficial for our maturity.

- But committing a sin is an exception.

- Any kind of sins are not beneficial. You don’t need to experience a sin.

>> You will have to pay the price, and you will regret.

2) Concrete examples

- I know that you are facing and will face many kinds of temptations in your lives.

- Especially, you would begin to experience new temptations in your teenage years.

- EX: cheating, lying to parents, stealing, drinking, sexual relationship

- These all are clearly sins. God does not accept these.

- If you are college student, you are exposed to these kinds of temptations more.

- Because you break away from the fence of school and parents.

- You are freer than before. It is good but can be more dangerous if you fail to control it.

- Whenever you face these temptations, you may justify yourself, thinking, “Oh, right! Pastor Park said I am God’s covenant people, and God is always my side. God is always faithful to me even when I made a mistake!”

- And you hastily conclude, “God will forgive me.” And you commit a sin.

- Ah…. Yes. Right in part. You will be forgiven and God’s love for you will not change.

- But, this is misunderstanding God’s love and forgiveness. This is misunderstanding God’s justice.

- Because God loves you, He does not leave you like that. Because God loves you and God is just, He pays back all things you do. He will discipline you.

>> Remember! God’s rod of love is painful. So, don’t commit a sin.

- This is the lesson we have to learn through Jacob’s life.

6. Conclusion