Genesis 27D (2011) The cnspiracy f Rebekah and Jacb has dne its wrk, and Jacb has received the blessing, which means the birthright has been hnred Jacb will receive all f the father s inheritance Nt just the duble prtin Isaac flishly assigned his entire inheritance t Jacb, thinking he was Esau That fact might nt have been clear enugh frm the blessing we read last week It simply mentined the dew f heaven and fatness n earth, etc. But the all inclusive nature f the blessing will sn becme apparent when the time cmes t give Esau his prtin We re ging t find that there is nthing left Isaac thught he was utsmarting Rebekah and Jacb and even Gd Himself He reckned he culd allcate everything t his favrite sn and settle the matter Instead, he did exactly the ppsite f what he wanted, which was exactly what Gd intended Isaac s attempt t ut maneuver Gd reminds f a classic exchange between a yung by praying t the Lrd Jhnny - Gd hw lng is a millin years t yu? Gd - It is but a secnd Jhnny. Jhnny - Gd hw much is a millin dllars t yu? Gd - It is but a penny t me Jhnny - Gd can I have a penny Gd - Just a secnd S nw it s time t watch the ther she drp as Esau returns 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 2 f 12 Gen. 27:30 Nw it came abut, as sn as Isaac had finished blessing Jacb, and Jacb had hardly gne ut frm the presence f Isaac his father, that Esau his brther came in frm his hunting. Gen. 27:31 Then he als made savry fd, and brught it t his father; and he said t his father, Let my father arise and eat f his sn s game, that yu may bless me. Gen. 27:32 Isaac his father said t him, Wh are yu? And he said, I am yur sn, yur firstbrn, Esau. Gen. 27:33 Then Isaac trembled vilently, and said, Wh was he then that hunted game and brught it t me, s that I ate f all f it befre yu came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed. Gen. 27:34 When Esau heard the wrds f his father, he cried ut with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said t his father, Bless me, even me als, O my father! Obviusly, Isaac never expected a secnd visitr after giving the first blessing Obviusly, he never expected the secnd sn t appear Which means Isaac had n intentin f granting a blessing t Rebekah s sn, as Isaac called Jacb Further prf that Isaac was intending t give Esau everything Esau annunces himself, but ntice his descriptin He answers he is Esau, the firstbrn Esau is using that term t emphasize his suppsed right t the blessing He might have been the first child brn physically, but in terms f the birthright, he was n lnger the firstbrn He had sld that right S Esau s descriptin in this cntext is a lie, in that it implies he has rights t smething he sld When Esau annunces himself, Isaac trembles in fear The wrd tremble in Hebrew is charad, which means shaking with great fear, nt in anger Isaac wasn t furius at the deceptin, he was exceedingly shaken and frightened by his recgnitin that Gd had been wrking against Isaac s plan 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 3 f 12 Just the recgnitin that he had entered int a cntest f wills with the Living Gd brught the fear f Gd s wrath and judgment t Isaac s heart Gd king Jehshaphat said it this way 2Chr. 19:7 Nw then let the fear f the LORD be upn yu; be very careful what yu d, fr the LORD ur Gd will have n part in unrighteusness r partiality r the taking f a bribe. As the reality f the mment sets in, Isaac is hrrified He has just blessed smene with his entire inheritance and patriarchal authrity ver the entire family As Isaac himself acknwledges, indeed, that persn will be blessed Isaac has given away the farm and left him flatfted When Esau hears this stry, he immediately realizes what has happened And different than his father, Esau s cry is bitter and srrwful He is suddenly sad at the prspect f having n inheritance whatsever In desperatin, he appeals t his father t give him sme kind f blessing What he means is give me smething fr an inheritance He was clearly shaken by the prspect f having nthing at all Why was Esau s upset? Once again, we see evidence that Isaac s blessing t Jacb was ttal and cmplete, leaving nthing behind Didn t Hebrews tells us that Esau despised his birthright? Let s take a secnd lk at that passage 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 4 f 12 Heb. 12:15 See t it that n ne cmes shrt f the grace f Gd; that n rt f bitterness springing up causes truble, and by it many be defiled; Heb. 12:16 that there be n immral r gdless persn like Esau, wh sld his wn birthright fr a single meal. Heb. 12:17 Fr yu knw that even afterwards, when he desired t inherit the blessing, he was rejected, fr he fund n place fr repentance, thugh he sught fr it with tears. First, ntice the cntext f these cmments by the writer t the Hebrews The writer is warning abut the pssibility that smene in ur midst may have cme shrt f the grace f Gd These unbelievers are a surce f bitterness and truble within the bdy f believers And by their presence they defile the bdy f Christ This is the cntext f the authrs cmments cncerning Esau As we ve already seen, Esau is an unbeliever, a gdless man And nw the reader uses Esau as an example f the prblem f a bitterness that causes truble amng believers Esau is exactly that kind f persn He is the unbeliever in this family f therwise Gd-fearer peple And because he has cme shrt f the grace f Gd, he will nw be a bitter rt causing truble in this family And he will be the surce f much truble We remember that he has married tw ungdly wmen and they are a surce f misery fr Isaac and Rebekah And nw he will be a surce f truble in the matter f the blessing The secnd thing we ntice is that Esau s sale f his birthright was prf, accrding t this writer, that he was a gdless man In fact, Esau despised his birthright, which explains why he sld it fr nly a bwl f stew The birthright was nrmally just an earthly inheritance 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 5 f 12 But in Isaac s family, it gained additinal significance because it als included a spiritual prmise frm Gd At this pint in ur stry, Esau is clearly upset at the prspect f lsing the birthright inheritance But based n Hebrews, we cnclude that Esau desired the earthly inheritance that he s lst nw But he despised the heavenly prmises in the birthright, which is why he sld it s casually We must cnclude that Esau expected t find a way arund the sale when the time came Perhaps he expected Isaac s favr fr him t win the day In any case, Esau s willingness t sell prved his lack f faith in Gd s prmises It prved he was a gdless man wh had cme up shrt f Gd s grace But nw that he is faced with the full reality f what he had dne, his attitude changes This leads us t the third thing we learn frm Hebrews...after Esau realized that the Lrd had intervened t hld him Esau t his bargain, he was srrwful Esau wanted t repent, but there was n place fund fr repentance It s imprtant t lk clsely at the sentence structure in v.17 f Hebrews 12 First, Esau desired t inherit the blessing Wh did he seek the blessing frm? Isaac And then it says Esau was rejected in his pursuit fr the birthright Wh rejected him? Isaac, f curse Isaac cannt bless Esau with the birthright because it s already gne Then the writer says Esau fund n rm fr repentance The writer is saying that Esau had n capacity r desire t repent f his unbelief in Gd s prmises 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 6 f 12 His srrw was strictly a respnse t lsing the material blessing S Esau lacked a repentant heart fr his despising f Gd s prmises As a result f his lack f repentance, Esau culd nt btain what he desired, that is an inheritance The writer ends the verse by saying that he (Esau) sught it with tears What did Esau seek? The birthright inheritance, f curse S putting it all tgether, the writer says that Esau was a gdless man, an immral man He became a rt f bitterness in a family f Gd-fearing believers He despised the spiritual blessing that Gd had pured ut n this family And as a result f his unbelief, he was willing t part with the the spiritual blessings f the birthright fr next t nthing Yet he still cunted n receiving the material inheritance by hk r crk When Gd stepped in and excluded Esau frm any inheritance whatsever, he cried tears f srrw but nt tears f repentance Paul reminds us that nt all srrw is gdly srrw 2Cr. 7:10 Fr the srrw that is accrding t the will f Gd prduces a repentance withut regret, leading t salvatin, but the srrw f the wrld prduces death. The unbelieving wrld will experience great srrw in their lives frm time t time This srrw is the result f sin and it is a experience cmmn t all men, believer and unbeliever But fr the unbeliever, it is the nly kind f srrw that is pssible, and it ultimately leads nwhere Therefre, Esau s lack f repentance and lack f faith prevented him frm receiving the thing he sught 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 7 f 12 Because he rejected Gd s prmises f eternal inheritance, he lst bth the eternal and the earthly inheritance And because Jacb was blessed with faith, he gladly received the prmises f Gd and therefre he was t receive blessing bth then and nw This pattern is still at wrk in the wrld tday The wrld desires t have earthly wealth and they cry tears f srrw when they lse it But in their desperatin t btain and hld n t smething that is destined t fail and burn up, they cmpletely ignre - and even despise - the prmises fund in the wrd f Gd S in the end they will lse bth the earthly and the spiritual blessings Because they try t btain what they cannt keep, they fail t gain what they cannt lse The believer, n the ther hand, is called t leave behind the chase fr wrldly things, and in the prcess rest in the prmises f Gd As a result f that refcus, the wrd f Gd prmises that they will gain far mre than they lst Several verses cme t mind Luke 18:28 Peter said, Behld, we have left ur wn hmes and fllwed Yu. Luke 18:29 And He said t them, Truly I say t yu, there is n ne wh has left huse r wife r brthers r parents r children, fr the sake f the kingdm f Gd, Luke 18:30 wh will nt receive many times as much at this time and in the age t cme, eternal life. Luke 9:24 Fr whever wishes t save his life will lse it, but whever lses his life fr My sake, he is the ne wh will save it. S what can Isaac d fr his bitter and unrepentant sn under the circumstances? 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 8 f 12 Gen. 27:35 And he said, Yur brther came deceitfully and has taken away yur blessing. Gen. 27:36 Then he said, Is he nt rightly named Jacb, fr he has supplanted me these tw times? He tk away my birthright, and behld, nw he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have yu nt reserved a blessing fr me? Gen. 27:37 But Isaac replied t Esau, Behld, I have made him yur master, and all his relatives I have given t him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Nw as fr yu then, what can I d, my sn? Gen. 27:38 Esau said t his father, D yu have nly ne blessing, my father? Bless me, even me als, O my father. S Esau lifted his vice and wept. Gen. 27:39 Then Isaac his father answered and said t him, ı Behld, away frm the fertility f the earth shall be yur dwelling, And away frm the dew f heaven frm abve. Gen. 27:40 By yur swrd yu shall live, And yur brther yu shall serve; But it shall cme abut when yu becme restless, ı That yu will break his yke frm yur neck. Isaac begins with statement that is half truth, half lie Isaac says yur brther came deceitfully...this is true Jacb used deceptin, which is a frm f lying, t btain the birthright But that statement ignres the bvius truth Jacb was led t be deceptive because Isaac and Esau were themselves deceptive in scheming t award the birthright unjustly If anyne shuld be accused f trickery, it wuld be these tw men And then Isaac speaks a falsehd himself He describes the birthright as belnging t Esau It des nt belng t Esau and hasn t since he sld it By using this phrase, Isaac gives birth t the false stry that Jacb was a deceiver wh stle the birthright 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 9 f 12 He was a deceiver, but he deceived t keep smething that Gd had already given t him D yu knw the stry f the spies and Rahab, the Harlt? Remember that in that stry Rahab uses a deceptin t prtect the spies Her deceptin was a sin, thugh it was used t further the purpses f Gd Anther example f Gd wrking thrugh the sin f men t accmplish His gd purpses And the same here Jacb sins - and he pays a price fr his sin - but he is wrking in the will f Gd In v.26 Esau take the accusatin a step further He ntes the irny in Jacb s name, that he was a supplanter having stepped int Esau s place It s imprtant t nte that Esau acknwledges that the birthright had been sld But then he claims it was an unfair sale He is trying t rewrite histry t psitin himself as the victim Again, these are the testimnies that have led s many t think that Jacb was the ffender here But shuld we base ur view f Jacb n the testimny f tw men wh were beaten at their wn game f deceptin? Or d we take the cunsel f Gd s wrd that tells us that Jacb was the peaceful, Gd-fearing man wh was t be blessed by the Lrd? S Esau asks his father if there is anything left t distribute t him? Nw Isaac breaks the bad news t Esau - there is nthing left Jacb is t be Esau s master and all Jacb s relatives are t be Jacb s servants 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 10 f 12 This was an especially hard declaratin, and nw Isaac regrets having prnunced it But a mment earlier he was willing t give that kind f preference t Esau I suspect Isaac viewed Esau smething like the way Israel later came t view Saul when they chse him t be king Saul lked the part and made the peple feel gd abut themselves, but he was a man chsen by Gd That man was David, the shepherd by Similarly, Esau is a man that Isaac can imagine being a pwerful leader ver the family, unlike the weaker and timid Jacb S Isaac tries t place Esau in the place f prminence and cuts ut Jacb entirely Nw Isaac has t break the news t Esau that there is nthing left Jacb received the best f heaven and earth that Isaac had t ffer And Isaac adds rhetrically what can I give yu? Meaning, I have nthing t give yu S we see prf that the first blessing was everything Isaac culd ffer Then Esau in desperatin asks if yu have nly ne blessing? Can t yu prnunce smething fr my sake? But unlike gdless Esau, Isaac is Gd-fearing, and this experience has awken Isaac his sinful blindness, spiritually speaking He realizes that this entire episde has Gd s fingerprints all ver it And if Gd wanted Jacb t receive everything, then trembling Isaac isn t abut t try a secnd time t challenge Gd S Isaac resists any attempt t prnunce a blessing n Esau When Esau pushes him, Isaac des the nly thing he can d at this pint Isaac cnfirms that Esau has been frsaken by the Lrd 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 11 f 12 He declares a blessing that is essentially an series f cntrary statements cmpared t what was given t Jacb While Jacb receive the best f everything, Esau will be far away frm Isaac s inheritance He will be separated bth frm the fertility f the Land f Israel but frm the grace and mercy f Heaven Furthermre, Esau will be a peple that live by the swrd, being the hunter that he is He will serve Jacb except that Esau s peple will be in cnstant rebellin t Jacb s peple Thus assuring that the tw families never have affinity fr ne anther Histrically, we see the truth f this blessing The Edmites, wh descend frm Esau, were always Israel s enemies And anytime Israel cnquered the Edmites, they inevitably rse up again Eventually, they became knwn as the Idumaeans The Herd dynasty were Idumaens, r Edmites When Jerusalem was destryed in AD66, they were wiped ut alng with mst f the Jews But there is als a deeper spiritual truth reflected in these blessings We knw that Jacb s blessing is a reflectin n Gd s plan fr Israel and all believers brught int the New Cvenant But this blessing n Esau is als a cnfirmatin f Gd s eternal decree at the fall in the Garden Gd said that the seed f the wman wuld have enmity with the serpent and her seed wuld battle with the seed f the serpent The seed f wman is first and fremst Christ, brn f a virgin, and He battles with Satan, the serpent But the seed als represents all thse wh descend frm these tw persns 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 27D 12 f 12 The seed f the wman are all believers in Christ While the seed f the serpent is a representatin f all unbelievers wh are sns f disbedience, Paul calls them And Gd declared in the Garden that there will always be enmity between these tw seeds Here we see Gd ensure that separatin n a natinal basis It starts with these tw brthers wh will frever be enemies, at least at sme level And their respective families will find n cmmn grund ver the centuries, since Gd calls His peple t be separate frm the wrld But then Gd will als use the unbelieving wrld t chastise the unfaithful Israel, which is hw He used Edm When Christ cmes and the Kingdm is set up n earth, Edm will be an uninhabited land, accrding t Jeremiah and Isaiah While Israel will be filled with the glry f the Lrd and the abundance f His peple Then we will see the final and full measure f this prmise cme t fruitin While we wait tday, remember that we are called children f the prmise because we rest in what will be rather than what is tday 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.