Series Introduction:

Our recent series focused on Abraham's life, and we concluded by focusing on how he sent his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac from among their people. We saw how the servant prayed for guidance from the Lord and miraculously met Rebekah, who agreed to marry Isaac. The servant brought her back to Canaan, and the promised lineage of Abraham continued. 

Today we are skipping ahead a few chapters in the narrative. After the wedding of Isaac and Rebeckah, Abraham dies and goes to be with the Lord. Like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah initially struggle to have children. However, Rebeckah receives a divine revelation indicating that she will carry twins in her womb who will become two nations, with the elder serving the younger. Sure enough, Rebeckah conceives and gives birth to twins. Esau is born first, followed by Jacob, who was born grasping his brother's heel. For this reason, he was named "Jacob," meaning "supplanter" or "heel grabber."

As the two boys grow into young men, Esau becomes a skilled hunter and the favorite son of his father, Isaac. Meanwhile, Jacob is more mild-mannered and favored by his mother, Rebekah. One day, Esau returns from hunting hungry and asks for some of Jacob's stew, which he was busy preparing. Jacob offers Esau some stew in exchange for Esau's birthright. If you weren't aware, a birthright was given to the firstborn son and guaranteed that they received a double portion of the father's property, as well as the leadership rights of the clan. Esau foolishly agrees to this exchange, thoughtlessly trading away one of his greatest treasures for a hot meal.

Our passage this morning begins several years after these events. Isaac had grown old and understood that he would not live forever, so he decided that the time had finally come to pass his blessing on to his eldest son, Esau. 

Scripture Reading: 

Genesis 27:1-45: When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”  “Here I am,” he answered.  Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”

So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. He went to his father and said, “My father.”  

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.” Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied. Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.” So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”

“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.” Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.” Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

Opening Prayer:

Heavenly Father, as we gather here today to delve into the sacred words of Scripture, we approach You with reverence and humility.  Grant us understanding as we uncover the struggles faced by Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau – struggles that mirror our own battles between Your will and our sinful desires. Help us to learn from their mistakes and to be vigilant in guarding our hearts against self-deception. May our hearts be transformed, our minds renewed, and our actions aligned with Your Word.  May our hearts be receptive to Your message, and may Your wisdom shape our thoughts and actions. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray Amen.

Introduction:

This is a genuinely heartbreaking passage from Scripture. Isaac and Rebeckah’s marriage started strong, but over the years, they began to work against each other. Likewise, their twin children, Jacob and Esau, were far from examples of brotherly love. This was a house divided against itself and as Jesus himself declared; 

 “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” - Matthew 12:25, ESV. 

Rationalizing Disobedience 

Compared to his father, Abraham, and his son Jacob, not much is said about the life of Isaac. We see an early life marked by faith in God, but then we skip ahead to an older man who seems unsure of God’s promises.  God had told Isaac that Jacob, not Esau, would carry on the promised line of the Messiah. But despite this divine revelation, Isaac went ahead with his plan to bless Esau. 

It's interesting to ponder why Isaac didn't just bless his son on the spot. But, as it turns out, he was following the custom of the time. Back then, it was customary to celebrate such occasions with a feast. This probably made Isaac feel better about the whole situation as he was just doing what other fathers did, bestowing blessings on their eldest sons and throwing a big party. It's easy to see how he might have rationalized his actions, telling himself, "I'm just following the customs of the culture." 

It is also interesting to note that when the father transferred the birthright and blessing of the family inheritance, it was customary to do this with the eldest son and to do so in the presence of the rest of the family. The fact that Rebeckah and Jacob were not invited to this secret blessing ceremony tells me that Isaac knew in the back of his mind that what he was doing was wrong. 

While it was the custom of the day to bless the eldest son, if the older son proved unworthy, the father could pass the blessing to a younger son. From the beginning, God had told Isaac and Rebeckah that the blessing would belong to Jacob. Esau had already proven himself unworthy by despising his birthright and selling it for a pot of stew. Still, Isaac loved Esau and wanted to overrule God's will by blessing him instead of Jacob. 

What happened to the young man of faith? I think what happened to Isaac was the very thing that happens to many of us if we are not careful - we find ourselves with divided loves. Isaac knew God planned to work through Jacob, but Isaac favored Esau. Maybe he was resentful of Jacob for tricking his brother into selling his birthright, even though Esau deserves just as much blame for being foolish enough to accept such an offer. Maybe he did not understand why God would want to work through someone as mild and homely as Jacob when he could have chosen to work through a rugged, strong man like Esau. 

In our sinful thinking, we want what we think is best for ourselves and others, even if God has told us otherwise. Isaac's favoritism towards Esau was not in line with God's will, leading him further away from what God wanted. Isaac's sin serves as an essential reminder to us all. We need to be vigilant in guarding our hearts against self-deception and the temptation to twist God's Word to fit our own desires. We all know how easy it is to justify our actions, even if they go against what we know God wants from us. We fall into the old temptation that Satan has been using ever since the Garden of Eden, “Did God really say… ?” (Genesis 3:1). This is why the prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Israel that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Indeed, only God possesses the penetrating insight to lay bare the actual condition of our hearts. As the author of Proverbs noted, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2). Our hearts, though often veiled in self-deception, are fully exposed to the eyes of our Creator. We cannot hide our intentions, motives, or desires from Him who formed us intricately.

How, then, can we avoid falling into the sin of self-deception? The only way is to maintain this intimate connection with our Heavenly Father. The first way we do this is through prayer.  As the psalmist proclaims, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar" (Psalm 139:1-2). The second way to avoid self-deception is to immerse yourself in studying God’s Word. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, ESV). As we seek God’s guidance through prayer and through God’s Word, we inevitably learn to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised would come as a Helper, guiding them into all truth (John 16:13, ESV). When we yield to the Spirit's leading, He convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8, ESV). He illuminates the paths of obedience and righteousness, directing our steps away from the treacherous path of disobedience.

Doubting God's Timing

If Isaac’s problem was that he was willing to put his own loves and preferences above submitting to God’s will and guidance, Rebecka’s problem was that she did not trust God to work out His will in His timing. Maybe you have found yourself at some point in your life in a situation where you know what God's will is, but impatience drives you to take matters into your own hands. It's a struggle we all face from time to time. We already saw with Sarah and Hagar what can happen when we try to use sinful means to force God’s promises to come true. In Genesis 27:6-17, we witness another example of someone using ungodly means to try to bring about God’s will.  

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. - Genesis 27:6-17

Even though Rebekah knew that Jacob was supposed to receive the blessing, when she overheard Isaac’s plan to bless Esau, she felt she couldn't trust God to make it happen in His own time. Rebeckah thought she needed to fulfill God's will for Him, even if that meant using lies and deception. 

Rebekah's actions might have been well-intentioned, but they were misguided and sinful nonetheless. She forgot that God can make things happen in His own time and His own way. Like Sarah before her, she decided that it was okay to do something she knew was wrong, so long as she was doing it for the right reasons. We might be tempted to fall for the same twisted thinking in our own lives, but God sees through our lies, and we can't manipulate His plans. The old saying is true: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

In Genesis 27:18-29, we witness Rebeckah persuading her son Jacob to trick his father by impersonating his brother Esau to obtain the blessing. Sadly, Jacob listened to his mother, a decision that would have long-lasting consequences for the life of Jacob. Perhaps Jacob convinced himself that he was only doing what he needed to do to get what was rightfully his. God had promised him the blessing, and Esau had sold his birthright. Unfortunately, Jacob fell into the same sin his mother had fallen into; he was trying to use sinful means to make God’s plan come to fruition. 

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were tempted to take matters into your own hands? Maybe you thought the ends justified the means or that it didn't matter if it was technically a sin as long as you had good intentions. But here's the thing: God is never honored by sin. Jacob learned this the hard way when his deceptive plans brought disastrous consequences. The truth is that relying on our own understanding or worldly strategies will only lead us astray. 

So what's the solution? We must seek God's wisdom through His Word and rely on His guidance to develop our plans. I know it's not always easy, especially when it feels like we're the only ones playing by the rules. But that's where faith comes in. We trust that God will work things out for us in His own way and timing. All we need to do is be faithful and walk in obedience to Him. After all, His ways are higher and wiser than ours, and His counsel stands firm throughout all generations.

Taking The Blessing For Granted

Finally, we turn our attention to Esau, a tragic figure whose story reflects a common human struggle of choosing immediate pleasure over a life aligned with God's will. He was so focused on hunting and indulging in worldly passions that he neglected his spiritual well-being. He recklessly sold his birthright, which had immense spiritual significance, for a measly bowl of stew. He did not value the blessing until it was time to reap the rewards. Only then, when he realizes that he has been robbed of his inheritance, does he understand what he has lost. 

“Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. - Genesis 27:38, ESV

This powerful scene reveals Esau's regret. He had only come to recognize the value of his father's blessing when it was too late. How many of us go through life neglecting our Heavenly Father’s blessings? As Christians, we've received the greatest blessing of all: the gift of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3 reminds us, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

Just as Esau didn't fully grasp the significance of his father's blessing, we can sometimes fail to grasp the immeasurable worth of our salvation. We have been given access to the throne of God, but how often do we trade that privilege away for worldly things that, in the end, will be no more valuable than a pot of stew? Just as Esau focused on immediate gratification, we can easily become preoccupied with temporary pursuits. 

Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Esau's regretful story serves as a stark reminder of the danger of undervaluing blessings. Let us learn from his example and cultivate lives of gratitude, humility, and eternal perspective. May we never take our salvation for granted but instead live in such a way that reflects the immeasurable value of the blessing we've received. As we journey forward, may our hearts remain fixed on the eternal, and may our lives radiate the joy and gratitude that come from understanding the depth of God's blessings.

Conclusion 

Many of us have known the pain of a house divided. We have felt the sting of watching sin turn families against one another. This is why I want to conclude by reminding you all that it is within the context of our human frailty and imperfection that the gospel's brilliance truly shines.

Just as sins have the potential to hurt and divide families, the Gospel offers the ultimate healing and restoration. It reminds us that we are all sinners, but through Jesus Christ, we find forgiveness and redemption. His sacrifice on the cross is the thread that can mend even the deepest rifts within our families.

The Gospel, in its purest form, is a message of reconciliation. It teaches us to repent of our sins and turn toward God's boundless love and grace. Moreover, the Gospel assures us of God's sovereignty over sin, not as its source, but as the ultimate conqueror of it. Jesus conquered sin and death through His resurrection, and He holds the power to redeem even the most broken relationships.

When we embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we not only find forgiveness for our sins but also the strength to forgive others. We are called to seek peace, just as Christ is the Prince of Peace. The Gospel offers us the blueprint for transforming our families from places of discord into havens of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

In essence, the Gospel is the thread that weaves our brokenness into a beautiful tapestry of redemption. It is the story of God's unwavering love for us, and it is in this love that we discover the power to heal our families and find true peace. So, let us anchor our lives and our families in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for in Him, we see the ultimate source of hope and restoration.

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, as we reflect on the story of Isaac's family, we're reminded of their struggles when they disregarded Your will. We confess that we, too, have at times chosen our own desires over Your perfect plan for our lives. Forgive us, Lord, for the times we've rationalized disobedience and tried to manipulate circumstances to fit our own wishes. May we learn from our mistakes and embrace Your plan with wholehearted surrender, recognizing that Your ways are higher and wiser than our own. We thank You for the ultimate example of obedience and surrender in the life of Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself to fulfill Your redemptive plan for humanity. Through His sacrifice, we have the opportunity to experience forgiveness and restoration. May we never take such a blessing for granted. Guide us, O Lord, and lead us to live lives that honor You in every way. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.