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Scripture Reading: Genesis 27:2-24
2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore,
please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for
me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul
may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to
hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your
father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me,
that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ 8 Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me
from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father,
such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may
bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a
smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to
him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go,
get them for me.” 14 And 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 choice clothes
of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger
son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of
his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the
hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went 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 just as you told me; please
arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really
my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The
voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him,
because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
Ironically, Isaac thought he was old and was dying, but Rebekah called this curse on
herself in verse 13 and she ended up dying well before Isaac. Eventually, Isaac is
going to go away because he is afraid of Esau because of the deception he’s done.
He goes off to the house of his mother’s brother Laban, and by the time he returns,
his father will be alive but the mother he love who conceived this plan, will be gone.
Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will
of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Proverbs 22:8 - He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rod of his anger will fail.
Each and every one of us is going to be accountable for the things we do. Many
times it doesn’t look that way. I will look like the unrighteous are getting away with
something while the righteous are forsaken but take heart that the LORD YHWH is
not mocked. But here’s the real irony of the situation. YHWH ha already told
Rebekah what the deal was.
Genesis 25:23-26
23 And the LORD said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name
Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name
was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
You see, this whole deception shows that Rebekah did not truly trust God. She
thought that because Isaac loved Esau more, it would be up to him how he blessed
his sons.
Genesis 48:14 & 17-19
14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the
younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh
was the firstborn.
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it
displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to
Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the
firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people,
and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
But, you know what? Even if Jacob HAD given Esau a better verbal, wasn’t it God
who would ultimately have the last say.
Exodus 33:19 - Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will
proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Genesis 31:25-28
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me
away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children
for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for
you.”
27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by
experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your
wages, and I will give it.”
God blesses whom He will bless and he has blessed Jacob, so much so that Laban
does not want to let him go, offering to let him name his own price. He recognizes
that YHWH has blessed him because of Jacob. Again Jacob attempts to put a
scheme into action by put speckled boughs into the trough so when the flock was to
conceive they would bear speckled young that would be his. Do you think that had
anything to do with so many of the strong young being born with speckled coats?
Does it not go back to God blessing whom He chooses to bless? But surely his
servants may have mentioned it to Laban’s sons’ servants.
Genesis 31:1-3
“Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has
acquired all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not
favorable toward him as before. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your
fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”
So, now someone who has been blessed by God, through their own actions, has
made the blessings of God seem trivial to man. Now, they think his wealth has come
from trickery and not from YHWH. Forgotten is what Laban had said before, that he
knew YHWH was blessing him.
Genesis 32:22-28
22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven
sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and
sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the
breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the
socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26
And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled
with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Though, Jacob has been blessed all along, he could not be fully blessed until he
recognized who he was! Where he was. You see, back when his father Isaac was
going to bless him, Isaac asked him two times who he was, he said Esau. It wasn’t
until now, during this time of blessing that when asked who he was, he said Jacob,
which literally means someone who takes the place of someone else by force,
scheming, strategy or the like. Now, he can be truly blessed and be made Israel,
which literally means prince with God.
Proverbs 27:23-24
23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
If you’ve looked at a destination on a map, you know that the first thing you have to
assess is where you are. Even on the maps at the mall there will be a big ‘You Are
Here', with an arrow pointing to where you are. We, as believers, must assess where
we are spiritually and consider where we are going, where we are in our study
(consider a Bible reading plan), and where we are financially (financial statement -
budget), so we can see the proper direction we must go to get to our desired
destination.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date September 2, 2007
Scripture Reading: Genesis 27:2-24
2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore,
please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for
me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul
may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to
hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your
father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me,
that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ 8 Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me
from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father,
such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may
bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a
smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to
him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go,
get them for me.” 14 And 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 choice clothes
of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger
son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of
his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the
hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went 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 just as you told me; please
arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really
my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The
voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him,
because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
Ironically, Isaac thought he was old and was dying, but Rebekah called this curse on
herself in verse 13 and she ended up dying well before Isaac. Eventually, Isaac is
going to go away because he is afraid of Esau because of the deception he’s done.
He goes off to the house of his mother’s brother Laban, and by the time he returns,
his father will be alive but the mother he love who conceived this plan, will be gone.
Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will
of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Proverbs 22:8 - He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rod of his anger will fail.
Each and every one of us is going to be accountable for the things we do. Many
times it doesn’t look that way. I will look like the unrighteous are getting away with
something while the righteous are forsaken but take heart that the LORD YHWH is
not mocked. But here’s the real irony of the situation. YHWH ha already told
Rebekah what the deal was.
Genesis 25:23-26
23 And the LORD said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name
Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name
was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
You see, this whole deception shows that Rebekah did not truly trust God. She
thought that because Isaac loved Esau more, it would be up to him how he blessed
his sons.
Genesis 48:14 & 17-19
14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the
younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh
was the firstborn.
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it
displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to
Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the
firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people,
and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
But, you know what? Even if Jacob HAD given Esau a better verbal, wasn’t it God
who would ultimately have the last say.
Exodus 33:19 - Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will
proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Genesis 31:25-28
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me
away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children
for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for
you.”
27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by
experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your
wages, and I will give it.”
God blesses whom He will bless and he has blessed Jacob, so much so that Laban
does not want to let him go, offering to let him name his own price. He recognizes
that YHWH has blessed him because of Jacob. Again Jacob attempts to put a
scheme into action by put speckled boughs into the trough so when the flock was to
conceive they would bear speckled young that would be his. Do you think that had
anything to do with so many of the strong young being born with speckled coats?
Does it not go back to God blessing whom He chooses to bless? But surely his
servants may have mentioned it to Laban’s sons’ servants.
Genesis 31:1-3
“Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has
acquired all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not
favorable toward him as before. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your
fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”
So, now someone who has been blessed by God, through their own actions, has
made the blessings of God seem trivial to man. Now, they think his wealth has come
from trickery and not from YHWH. Forgotten is what Laban had said before, that he
knew YHWH was blessing him.
Genesis 32:22-28
22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven
sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and
sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the
breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the
socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26
And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled
with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Though, Jacob has been blessed all along, he could not be fully blessed until he
recognized who he was! Where he was. You see, back when his father Isaac was
going to bless him, Isaac asked him two times who he was, he said Esau. It wasn’t
until now, during this time of blessing that when asked who he was, he said Jacob,
which literally means someone who takes the place of someone else by force,
scheming, strategy or the like. Now, he can be truly blessed and be made Israel,
which literally means prince with God.
Proverbs 27:23-24
23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
If you’ve looked at a destination on a map, you know that the first thing you have to
assess is where you are. Even on the maps at the mall there will be a big ‘You Are
Here', with an arrow pointing to where you are. We, as believers, must assess where
we are spiritually and consider where we are going, where we are in our study
(consider a Bible reading plan), and where we are financially (financial statement -
budget), so we can see the proper direction we must go to get to our desired
destination.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date September 2, 2007
