Genesis 27B (2011) Let s jump back int ur stry, as Isaac cnspire t award his inheritance t his eldest sn, Esau Gen. 27:5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spke t his sn Esau. S when Esau went t the field t hunt fr game t bring hme, Gen. 27:6 Rebekah said t her sn Jacb, Behld, I heard yur father speak t yur brther Esau, saying, Gen. 27:7 Bring me sme game and prepare a savry dish fr me, that I may eat, and bless yu in the presence f the LORD befre my death. Gen. 27:8 Nw therefre, my sn, listen t me as I cmmand yu. Gen. 27:9 G nw t the flck and bring me tw chice yung gats frm there, that I may prepare them as a savry dish fr yur father, such as he lves. Gen. 27:10 Then yu shall bring it t yur father, that he may eat, s that he may bless yu befre his death. Gen. 27:11 Jacb answered his mther Rebekah, Behld, Esau my brther is a hairy man and I am a smth man. Gen. 27:12 Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upn myself a curse and nt a blessing. Gen. 27:13 But his mther said t him, Yur curse be n me, my sn; nly bey my vice, and g, get them fr me. Gen. 27:14 S he went and gt them, and brught them t his mther; and his mther made savry fd such as his father lved. Gen. 27:15 Then Rebekah tk the best garments f Esau her elder sn, which were with her in the huse, and put them n Jacb her yunger sn. Gen. 27:16 And she put the skins f the yung gats n his hands and n the smth part f his neck. Gen. 27:17 She als gave the savry fd and the bread, which she had made, t her sn Jacb. As Isaac was planning t give his blessing t his eldest sn, Rebekah was listening nearby She hears Isaac s plan, and immediately she recgnizes what her husband is ding Isaac is wrking in secret t accmplish his wn desires rather than hnr the Lrd s desires 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 27B 2 f 11 He is ging t award the blessing t Esau, which wuld transfer the patriarchal authrity and the cvenant prmises f the Lrd At this pint we need t remember what we mean when speaking f the birthright The birthright gave the ldest sn the right t a duble prtin f the inheritance, patriarchal authrity and the chief blessing f the father The blessing f the father was the means f cnferring these ther privileges Even thugh all children wuld receive a blessing, the ldest received the greatest blessing frm the father We knw that the Lrd has declared that the yunger wuld receive this greater blessing And then we saw Jacb purchase frm Esau the right t receive this greater blessing Esau cared nthing fr the prmises f Gd f curse And he was shrtsighted t think little f his father s wealth It was thrugh this purchase that the Lrd brught abut His will fr Jacb t receive the birthright But there is still the matter f Isaac s rle in transferring the birthright Isaac wants his ldest sn t receive the blessing, just has Abraham had wanted Ishmael t receive his blessing S Isaac is knwingly and intentinally wrking t thwart bth Gd and men He is wrking against the prnuncement f Gd because he desn t agree with it And he s wrking against the laws f the day by cheating Jacb ut f the birthright he lawfully purchased Rebekah having heard the plan jumps int actin t stp it She is ging t prepare her sn t play the part f Esau t fl her husband 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 27B 3 f 11 Rebekah knws that she has a windw f pprtunity It will take Esau sme hurs t find game, clean it and ck it She must act faster, which she can d because she desn t hunt t find her meat She tells Jacb t take tw gats and kill them s Rebekah can prepare them as a savry stew fr Isaac Nw at this pint Jacb raises the bvius cncern Dad may be fled by the fd, but he wn t be fled by the differences between Esau and me Esau is a hairy man, and Jacb had smth skin Literally, Jacb is cncerned that Isaac will reach ut at a pint and place his hand n Jacb s arm When he des, the ruse will be expsed Jacb says he wuld receive a curse rather than a blessing because he wuld be seen as a deceiver The Hebrew wrd fr deceive in v.12 is actually the wrd fr mck Jacb is saying he will be seen as mcking his father s blindness, and such disrespect culd be fatal fr Jacb In respnse, Rebekah says that whatever curse cmes upn Jacb fr his part in this deceptin, she will bear it What s she is saying is that whatever guilt and cnsequences wuld fall n Jacb she will bear instead Can she make such a bargain? N, she can t, because she will bear her wn guilt in this deceptin A guilty persn can t remve the sin f anther persn In thery, if she had n guilt f her wn, she might be bear Jacb s sin and take his cnsequences This is precisely the rle Christ plays fr each f us by ur faith in His sinless life and sacrificial death 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 27B 4 f 11 He is withut guilt and shame s He can stand in ur place t bear ur sin and shame dying in ur place n the crss In reality, Rebekah is just saying whatever she must t cnvince her sn t g alng with this plan S Jacb fllws Rebekah s instructins He finds tw gats and butchers the animals In the Hebrew text the descriptin f the gats is imprtant Rebekah says bring tw chice gats but the Hebrew wrd is actually gd r pure r right Rebekah prepares the meal, places Esau s clthes n Jacb and attaches small patches f yung gat hair t Jacb s arms and neck Jacb must have been a cmical sight in this garb as he entered Isaac s tent, but it is abslutely necessary Isaac s eyesight is pr, s he wn t be able see wh is speaking t him But Rebekah knws Isaac will use his ther senses t ensure he is blessing Esau This actin f this scene is be driven by human senses Taste, feel, smell, sund and the lack f eyesight Isaac is shwn relying n his flesh t discern truth and make decisins And nticeably missing is any effrt t rely n the Spirit, t hear frm the Lrd and put aside the flesh We culd ask why Rebekah desn t just cnfrnt her husband at this mment instead f engaging in this elabrate scheme? First, Rebekah can t tell her husband she was eavesdrpping n him That wuld have been a disrespectful, disgraceful act that wuld have shifted blame and negated her prtests Secndly, as the patriarch Isaac culd d what he pleased, s even if Rebekah cnfrnted him, he culd dismiss her cncerns 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 27B 5 f 11 S her nly chice is t wrk a plan behind his back Nw we shuld als ask why if Isaac is the patriarch des he feel the need t perate in secret in the first place? Because Isaac knws that Jacb has purchased the birthright If he were t cnduct this prcess in the pen, he wuld have had n chice but t hnr the agreement between Esau and Jacb Hnr was n small matter in that day, and s Isaac wuldn t have been able t g against the legal sale f the birthright Later, when the truth finally emerged, Isaac wuld likely be dead r culd simply deny knwing abut the sale f the birthright This brings us right back t where we began A father with a preference fr an ungdly sn, in defiance f Gd and his wife A wife frced t cunter with a scheming defense f the gdly sn, hping t ensure Gd s preference is hnred Lk at vs. 5-6 again paying attentin t the prnuns Isaac spke his sn, Esau; Rebekah spke t her sn, Jacb Isaac wrking t btain a meal with Esau Rebekah wrking Jacb t make that same meal It s like tw families at war with ne anther The saddest thing was that Isaac didn t need t set himself against his wife nr his sns against ne anther Last week we said that Isaac is the ne primarily respnsible fr the breakdwn in his family and we see it here again As father f ne gdless sn and ne gdly sn, Isaac shuld have invested his time and attentin accrdingly T the gdless sn, Isaac shuld have acknwledged Gd s chices and mitigated against further damage in the husehld 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 27B 6 f 11 T the gdly sn, Isaac shuld have acknwledged Gd s presence and shielded him frm the influence f the ungdly brther And Isaac is als respnsible fr the deterirating relatinship with his wife Isaac was blessed with a wman wh hears frm Gd Rebekah is ne f the few wmen in the OT wh is shwn t receive a wrd directly frm the Lrd And yet Isaac shws n regard fr Rebekah revelatin r cunsel Mrever, Isaac s reasn fr verriding Rebekah and the Lrd was because he favred the taste f the game Esau cked But as this scene shws, Rebekah knew hw t create a cnvincing substitute using gat S even Isaac s pathetic reasn fr favring Esau was pintless Isaac desn t seem t recgnize that the wman Gd has selected fr him is a wman capable f meeting his every need When we fail t see ur wife (r spuse) as ur ally in ur spiritual walk, they might start t lk like ur enemy They are the ne standing in the way f what we want They are the ne reminding us incnveniently f Gd s wrd and Gd s will Ultimately, they may feel frced t actively wrk against us, which nly increases the prblems Isaac and Rebekah are at that pint, each parent taking sides, wrking against ne anther rather than wrking tgether t hnr Gd That s the pint f every marriage, ultimately A Christian marriage is a 1 + 1 = 3 equatin A man and and a wife united in Christ becme a strnger vehicle fr glrifying Gd than either culd be alne 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 27B 7 f 11 This spiritual multiplicatin is nly true when bth the man and the wman are united in a cmmn missin t fllw and serve Christ We wn t always agree, but at the end f every decisin is cmmitment t mve as ne t the glry f Gd Isaac and Rebekah are like tw hrses in a tug f war pulling at ppsite ends f the same rpe There s a lt f tensin but they re ging nwhere spiritually In the end the strnger hrse may win, but at the expense f the weaker ne being dragged behind defeated and discuraged In this case, bth want an ppsite utcme, and nly ne can win Yet it didn t have t be this way Gd revealed His purpses clearly and when Esau sld his birthright, the matter was settled in accrdance with the affairs f men Isaac and Rebekah needed nly t acknwledge the bvius and unite in Gd s will Speaking f Gd, where is Gd in all this? Is the way Gd intended t bring abut His will? Is Rebekah s deceptin Gd s way f bringing abut the prphecy He delivered? Or was the sale f the birthright Gd s plan? Or wuld He have dne it sme ther way? The answer t all these questins is yes The stry f Isaac and his tw sns is ultimately a stry f Gd s svereignty It began with Gd chsing the yunger sn, Jacb, t receive His cvenant 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 27B 8 f 11 In his chice f Jacb, Gd left Esau t be the gdless man he was, which lead him t despise his birthright and sell it And Gd was wrking t ensure that Rebekah wuld hear Isaac s sinful plan and thwart it thrugh her wn sinful deceptin Did Gd need their help? N But Gd is wrking thrugh their sinful chices t prduce His desired utcme Gd wrks with sinful men and wmen because that s all He has And yet Gd is pwerful enugh t ensure that all that sin ultimately arrives at the right place, accrding t Gd s plan Gd s ability t wrk thrugh ur sin as He des here never becmes an excuse fr ur sin As if Gd s ability t make smething gd ut f ur sin culd smehw lead us t think ur sin desn t ffend Gd And remember, sin still carries cnsequences that will fllw us even as Gd uses ur sin fr His purpses He is pwerful enugh t bth turn ur sin t gd while still disciplining us thrugh sin s cnsequences In this case, Gd is wrking thrugh Isaac s stubbrnness and Rebekah s deceptiveness t create a gd and necessary utcme We remember that this stry began with a shrt mentin f Esau s wives He had taken Canaanite wives, which wuld be a devastating result fr Gd s peple shuld Jacb repeat this mistake If we jump ahead fr a mment t the end f this stry, lk at v. 46 Gen. 27:46 Rebekah said t Isaac, I am tired f living because f the daughters f Heth; if Jacb takes a wife frm the daughters f Heth, like these, frm the daughters f the land, what gd will my life be t me? Rebekah s statement reminds me f a cute stry... 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 27B 9 f 11 One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mther d the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly nticed that her mther had several strands f white hair sticking ut in cntrast n her brunette head. She lked at her mther and inquisitively asked, "Why are sme f yur hairs white, Mm?" Her mther replied, "Well, every time that yu d smething wrng and make me cry r unhappy, ne f my hairs turns white." The little girl thught abut this revelatin fr a while and then said, "Mmma, hw cme ALL f grandma's hairs are white?" Rebekah laments the Esau s wives, their negative influence in the family Nw we see that these wmen were the prblem, and the entire arrangement was a great disappintment t the family Hw will Gd ensure that Jacb will find a wife frm amng Abraham s family, just as Isaac did? As it turns ut, Gd will use this family dispute t frce Jacb t leave t leave the land and find his wife frm amng Abraham s family This is a clear example f Gd s svereignty at wrk in the lives f sinful peple While Isaac and Rebekah were struggling in their little family war, Gd was at wrk t prduce the circumstances t ensure that Jacb finds the right wife And even Jacb s wn sin will play a rle in that prcess, but still accrding t Gd s desires But because Isaac and Rebekah were absrbed in their wn sinful purpses, they missed the chance t see Gd at wrk And they each suffered great cnsequences in the prcess As I mentined last week, Rebekah will lse her favred sn and Isaac will see his family brken up Gd s svereignty ges even further in this case Remember in v.9 that Rebecca asked fr tw chice gats be killed Why tw gats fr ne simple meal? 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 27B 10 f 11 It seems like verkill, pardn the pun The answer is that in this scene Gd is at wrk presenting a picture f Christ In the Law (which arrived many centuries after this mment), the Lrd gave Israel instructins fr hw t cnduct the Day f Atnement This is the day each year when the entire natin f Israel received frgiveness fr their sins against Gd This is a mment f natinal atnement, when a natin is frgiven accrding t the Law Individuals within the natin didn t receive their persnal saving atnement at this mment Persnal atnement and imputed righteusness nly cmes by faith in the manner f Abraham But the entire natin was bund by the cvenant at Sinai and nce a year that natin received atnement accrding t the prescribed manner The Lrd cmmands Israel t take tw gd gats and sacrifice ne while laying hands n the ther The sacrificed gat was an atnement fr uncleanliness f Israel while the secnd gat received the sins f Israel thrugh the laying n f hands and was sent utside the city never t return Gd calls that secnd gat the scapegat, since this is the gat that wuld bear the sins f the natin and take them away Bth these gats are intended t picture the Messiah Christ is bth ur atning sacrifice and the One wh takes ur sins away Gd used tw gats t picture bth sides f Christ s redeeming wrk Nw in this scene, Gd uses Isaac as a picture f Christ - nt by Isaac s sinful actins but merely his rle as the authrity figure in the family And Jacb is the embdiment f Israel 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 27B 11 f 11 S accrding t the Law, Israel culd nly apprach the Lrd in the tent f meeting after tw gats were taken n the day f atnement And in this mment, befre yung Jacb culd successfully apprach his father Isaac, tw gats had t make the way pssible One became the sacrifice fr the meal while the secnd becmes the cvering t make Jacb acceptable t his father Why did Rebekah call fr tw gats t be killed fr the meal? Did she understand the picture she was creating? Hw culd she? What a wnderful display f Gd s svereignty Everyne invlved - Isaac, Esau, Rebekah and Jacb - were perating in sin, trying t scheme their way t a preferred utcme Meanwhile, Gd was at wrk in their sin t prduce exactly the utcme He desired And even in the smallest details f their sinful chices and decisins, Gd was at wrk t make clear He was in charge and He was at wrk We serve a mighty Gd He is sending Jacb ut f the land t find the right wife And He s creating a picture f the cming Savir And in the end, He will bring abut just cnsequences fr all invlved. Since He gets His way every time anyway, let s reslve t serve Him in bedience instead f testing Him by ur sin 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.