Providence Baptist Church of Baton Rouge
July 26
  • Stand Up Stand Up For Jesus
  • I Know Whom I Have Believed
  • How Firm A Foundation

      • Revelation 5ESV

  • Beyond This Age (Psalm 49)
  • Genesis 27:30–46 NASB95
    30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. 40 “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.” 41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban! 44 “Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” 46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

    Introduction

    Jacob, son of Isaac son of Abraham, was born in the last passage we looked at.
    Born a twin with Esau, we have already seen trouble.
    Jacob and Esau were fighting prenatally, giving their mother Rebekah great consternation during her pregnancy.
    Remember how awful she felt last time.
    Genesis 25:22 NASB95
    22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
    Jacob was such a mess he got named for grabbing at his older brothers heel as they were born.
    This would become quite consistent with his character, always scheming on how he could get ahead.
    When Rebekah prayed to God while she was going through such a rough pregnancy, He answered her with a prophecy about her children.
    Genesis 25:23 NASB95
    23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
    So this rogue of a man was set as God’s choice to be a nation that would be great and strong.
    Aren’t we glad that God chooses sinners to do His will with?
    And sinner, Jacob was.
    Right out of the gate we are told the account of how he traded a pot of red stew for the birthright of his older brother.
    This would begin, as you would imagine, to put a strain on their relationship.
    Then chapter 26 tells an account of Isaac and his struggles with some neighbors over wells, before we come to our passage today in chapter 27.
    We get another glimpse into the dysfunctional family that the Hebrew people would come from.
    All 4 of the people in the story are a mess, and none of them are painted in a favorable light.
    The bible, as usual, tells thing as they are.
    The accounts are not some panegyric praise story, passing over the blemishes of the men and women in them, but real accounts.
    No blemish is passed over for the sake of making them sound better than they are.
    And in the end, they are all accounts of how God can take our dysfunction and even sin, our mess, and shape it into His ultimate will.
    We look at today the next part in the story of Jacob, the heel grabber himself, and his deception of Isaac to steal the blessing that belonged to Esau.
    The first part I’m calling the machinations of 4 sinners.

    The Machinations of 4 Sinners v. 1-17

    Genesis 27:1–17 NASB95
    1 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2 Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. 3 “Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; 4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.” 5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 “Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you. 9 “Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. 10 “Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 “Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob.
    There are four people in this story.
    They all have their own motivations and plans.
    And all of those plans are worked out through the means of the flesh.
    The plans of Isaac
    Isaac knew his days were short, and it was time for his blessing to be given.
    The blessing was a kind of will and testament of the time.
    But Isaac also knew of the prophecy given to his wife, that the older would serve the younger.
    But Isaac liked Esau better.
    The reason that Isaac liked Esau better, was because Isaac liked to eat, particularly what Esau cooked.
    Genesis 25:28 NASB95
    28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
    Isaac was being led around by his stomach, and it was causing him to mess up!
    He knew what God had promised, but he let his taste make the decisions.
    He comes up with this idea for a private ceremony, with just Esau, Isaac, and Isaac’s stomach in attendance.
    Ralph Davies calls him, “The patron saint of all who say, ‘I don’t really care what the Word of God says, I will follow my own feelings.”
    The plans of Esau.
    Esau was a man of the present.
    As we saw last time, the quintessential secular man.
    He could care less about the promises of God, his family name, or his reputation.
    He just wanted what he wanted at the moment.
    In the end of chapter 26, he marries someone from the tribes they were promised the land of.
    Genesis 26:34–35 NASB95
    34 When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
    What does he care? He liked her, whats the big deal?
    The big deal is he was thinking of himself and his current situation, not the future and the fact that God had made a covenant with his family.
    But his lack of care and foresight is going to get him in trouble, as we will see.
    Then there is Rebekah.
    Maybe she thinks she is helping God fulfil His promise.
    What’s a little lie, if it furthers the bigger plan?
    She could have reminded Isaac of God’s promise, and trusted in God to keep it.
    But she had to take things into her own hands, and work out a plan from her own mind.
    Finally, the rogue himself.
    Verse 11 and 12 show his concern is still over himself, and worried not about what’s right.
    Genesis 27:11–12 NASB95
    11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 “Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”
    He is a pragmatist.
    All 4 of these sinners, are going into this situation looking out for themselves.
    Maybe you know someone that is like them?
    Maybe you can relate with one of them, but don’t want to admit it.
    One of the purposes these stories are in here are to show us reflections of ourselves and our own sin.
    They are also here to show us…
    Proverbs 19:21 NASB95
    21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.
    In the next part of our passage we see that…

    The Deception Works v.18-29

    Genesis 27:18–29 NASB95
    18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed; 28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; 29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”
    A lot of this could have been avoided with a simple conversation.
    But that doesn’t happen.
    This plan is convoluted and deceitful on so many levels, but it is carried out anyway.
    Rebekah prepares the meal, dresses Jacob in a way that would cause a blind man to think he was Esau.
    By the way, Esau must have been a pretty hairy guy to require animal pelt to be used.
    Jacob goes into Isaac’s room with full knowledge that he is being deceitful.
    He even invokes the name of God to further his lie.
    Genesis 27:20 NASB95
    20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me.”
    But Isaac begins to suspect something.
    He tells Jacob to come closer, and feels his hands.
    The voice sounded like Jacob, but the hairy goat’s pelt felt like Esau’s hands.
    The Jacob tells another lie.
    Genesis 27:24 NASB95
    24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”
    Isaac tastes the food, hmm, feels like Esau, the food tastes like Esau, but something is still off.
    He tells Jacob to come closer and kiss him.
    Jacob does so, and wearing the clothes of Esau, smells like Esau.
    Isaac smells Esau, so that is enough.
    Isaac was controlled by his senses.
    His emotions and feelings.
    When those feelings are satisfied, he gives his blessing to Jacob.
    His blessing has 2 facets
    Abundance
    Genesis 27:28 NASB95
    28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine;
    The land is the source of wealth, especially for shepherds.
    Isaac is blessing the land that will be Jacob’s.
    Problem is he thinks it’s Esau.
    Authority
    Genesis 27:29 NASB95
    29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”
    And here, the prophecy that God gave to Rebekah, that the older will serve the younger, will be fulfilled.
    As hard as Isaac tried to do it his way, God’s will will be done.
    Esau will serve Jacob.
    The deceitfulness of Rebekah and Jacob has been successful.
    Jacob now has the birthright and the blessing of Esau.
    Right after this happens, Esau comes in from the field and finds out what has happened.
    Then Isaac realizes what has happened, that he has been duped by his own wife and son.
    The dysfunction is in full view!
    But in spite of all of the dysfunction…

    God’s Will Still Prevails v.30-46

    Genesis 27:38–40 NASB95
    38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. 40 “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.”
    Isaac was so disturbed by his realization, that the bible says he trembled violently.
    Esau was so distraught he cried out bitterly, it says.
    Please! Is there a blessing left for me?
    Genesis 27:35 NASB95
    35 And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.”
    Then pay close attention to Esau’s response.
    Genesis 27:36 NASB95
    36 Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
    Jacob deceived him one time, but Esau lies here.
    A big fat lie.
    Jacob didn’t supplant him for his birthright, Esau thought so low of it, he traded it to him for dinner.
    And the bible says Esau despised his birthright, so why is he acting like he cares now?
    He is a whining hypocrite.
    He wanted the stuff, he didn’t care about his name or family, he just wanted what came with the blessing.
    The fact is, that technically, the blessing should have come with the birthright.
    Isaac and Esau are just really mad that their plan to sneak it to Esau didn’t work!
    So Isaac gives Esau the truth.
    Not so much of a curse, but more of an anti-blessing.
    Genesis 27:39–40 NASB95
    39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. 40 “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.”
    So what are we left with?
    Which side should we take?
    Four different people, four different sinners.
    In every direction we see scorched earth.
    This is the covenant family?
    If this was the material you had to work with, could you fulfil the promise made to Abraham that all of the families of the earth would be blessed by his family?
    I couldn’t!
    But God can! God did!
    In fact, He is still doing it.
    At the end of the day, in spite of all their plotting and sinning, God’s decree that the older will serve the younger, will come to pass.
    Like everything God decrees.
    And we should be grateful that He uses sinful vessels to do it!
    His will shall have victory in spite of all efforts to stop it!
    He will fulfil His word no matter what resistance or rebellion.
    And praise Him, not only in negative situations, like this, but also through more positive ones.
    In the nineteenth century, during Spurgeon’s ministry, there was an evangelist who was asked to go to a public house in the town of Nottingham.
    The pub owner’s wife was dying and he was asked to go visit her.
    He agreed, and when he arrived, he found her praising Christ as her savior.
    He asked her how she found Christ as Lord.
    She said, “Reading that!” as she handed him a piece of torn newspaper.
    The newspaper part had a sermon from Spurgeon printed on it.
    The newspaper was American.
    It was used as wrapping paper for a package that was sent to her from Australia.
    The sermon was preached in London, printed in America, made its way to Australia where it was used to wrap a package bound for a small pub in Nottingham, England.
    And she happened to take it off the package and read it instead of throwing it away.
    Once God’s will has been decreed, it shall come to pass, even if it has to circle the globe.

    Conclusion

    God is nothing if not persistent.
    This is how He works.
    He overcomes messes, like in our text today, with great strength and wisdom.
    He can turn the most unlikely circumstance or person into the instrument of His will.
    If His rogue, Jacob, isn’t proof of that, look at me, look at yourself!
    Ralph Davies says that stubbornness should be listed as an attribute of God.
    Not stubbornness like you or I have, but a holy stubbornness.
    We should take great comfort in the fact that God will keep His word by any means necessary.
    No human rebellion or human stupidity can stop His plan.
    Look at the sin of this one family, it is quite a mess.
    But you can look through this mess directly to the savior, who would end up fulfilling God’s ultimate promise to bless all the people of the earth from the messed up family that was started with Abraham.

      • Genesis 27:30–46ESV

      • Genesis 25:22ESV

      • Genesis 25:23ESV

      • Genesis 27:1–17ESV

      • Genesis 25:28ESV

      • Genesis 26:34–35ESV

      • Genesis 27:11–12ESV

      • Proverbs 19:21ESV

      • Genesis 27:18–29ESV

      • Genesis 27:20ESV

      • Genesis 27:24ESV

      • Genesis 27:28ESV

      • Genesis 27:29ESV

      • Genesis 27:38–40ESV

      • Genesis 27:35ESV

      • Genesis 27:36ESV

      • Genesis 27:39–40ESV

  • I Need Thee
Providence Baptist Church of Baton Rouge
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http://www.pbcbr.com
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