SS-Fraud and Flight-12-16-07

SS-Fraud and Flight (Jacob) – 12-16-07

Focus: Be warned that dishonesty has serious consequences and trust God to have our best interests at heart.

Central Truth: God’s will is that we live honestly, trusting Him.

Golden Text: "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel." (Proverbs 20:17, NKJV)

Last week we studied Isaac as a type of Christ.  This week we study Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob, and we will learn a lesson from them that will teach us that honesty is always the best policy. 

Esau and Jacob were twins.  Esau was the first to come out of the womb and therefore would be considered the firstborn son of Isaac.  That is important to our story because normally, the firstborn son inherits the vast majority of the father’s estate.

However, we will find that God chose Jacob to be the one who would carry on the spiritual heritage of Abraham and the future descendants who would become Israel.  But, Jacob and his mother decided to take matters into their own hands and through deception they defrauded Esau of his blessing.  This eventually caused Jacob to flee into Mesopotamia in exile to escape his brother’s wrath. 

Question:  Why do people try and take shortcuts to fulfill God’s will in their lives?  Does this reveal a lack of faith and trust in God?

I. Two Destinies Foretold. Genesis 25:20-28.

Vs. 20-