"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 weapons—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, and I'm a man with 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 blessed 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 of heaven's dew and of 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, 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? He has deceived me these two times: 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." Genesis 27:1-40
Have you ever experienced deception in your life…a time when someone violated your trust in them? I think we all have encountered it or will encounter it at some time or another. I have gone through it on a rather grand scale in my life and I can tell you it is in my top 10 worse memories. Maybe you can relate.
I have also been guilty of being a deceiver as well. It may have not been as blatant as what happened to me but it is just as wrong. Have you ever told someone a lie? Maybe you didn’t tell the whole truth to someone when they were expecting it? Deceit is deceit just as sin is sin. Maybe you can relate.
In our scripture today, Isaac is ready to pass his blessing onto his firstborn son Esau as worldly tradition would have it. This isn’t just any ordinary blessing. It is a transfer of rights to Canaan and the promises of God. Much is at stake…and there is much to gain for the one who receives the blessing. There was only one big problem in this particular situation. The Lord had already pronounced who would receive the blessing and it was in direct contrast to what the world would see happen. Recall the following words of the Lord from Genesis, Chapter 25 as He answers Rebekah’s question about why the twin sons were jostling within her: He said, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."
Fast forward now to Genesis, Chapter 27. Isaac, old and suffering from poor eyesight, fears his death is coming soon and wants to give his blessing to Esau, his oldest son. Perhaps Isaac did not know about the words to Rebekah but I doubt it. She surely shared her experience with him. Nonetheless, God’s words to Rebekah showed that He would be passing on the blessing to Jacob for he was the younger of the two. So no matter how much Isaac wanted to do his own thing and pass the blessing to Esau, in the end, God’s will was going to be done…and it did get done just as He said it would. Isaac is tricked into giving the blessing to Jacob thinking he is really Esau, a plan devised by Rebekah and carried out by both Rebekah and Jacob. The irony of all this is that Isaac himself had played the role of deceiver in his dealings with Abimelech. Now, he got to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end. God not only ensures His will is done but also can teach us a lesson at the same time.
Question: Do you think that maybe God allows us to be victims of deception to show us what it feels like to those who we deceive? Is He trying to teach us lessons in the midst of that kind of experience?
Others were also at fault here. One might think that Rebekah and Jacob had to do what they did to make sure Isaac didn’t give his blessing to Esau. One might think their deception was justified. Think again. Deceptiveness, lying, cheating…they all are sin and God hates sin. He would never ordain sinful behavior to carry out any plan He devised. Sin is NEVER part of God’s design so if you are working through a situation and you start to think God is leading you while sinful thoughts are in your heart and mind, know and trust that it is Satan doing the leading, not God. God would have had the blessing transferred to Jacob in His way and in accordance with His will. Rebekah and Jacob trumped God by doing their own thing. Although the result is what God wanted, the steps taken were not of God. At least in Jacob's case, he is soon going to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of deception but that is a different devotional on a different day.
Question: Have you ever been convinced by Satan that deceiving someone is necessary in some situations? Have you ever decided to come up with your own plan to make something happen instead of relying and trusting in God to make it happen?
We’ve covered Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob. Esau is the only one left in this story. One might see him as being the victim in all this. Surely, he didn’t do anything inappropriate. But he did…and it won’t be the last time.
Esau, you see, isn’t willing to accept the outcome of this matter as being God’s will. All he sees is his blessing and birthright being stolen away by his younger brother. Even if he didn’t know that God had already pronounced that Jacob would be the heir apparent to Canaan and His promises, he could have accepted the final outcome by faith that either God’s will was done…or if it hadn’t been done, that He would set it right. In other words, if it were God’s will for Esau to get the blessing, then he would get it…if not at that moment then it would happen in the future. Esau didn’t trust however, instead he wailed and cried after finding our Jacob had received the blessing he felt he deserved.
Question: Have you ever been resentful when someone received something you thought you should have gotten? Have you ever been reluctant to accept your circumstances as part of God’s plan for you?
I have and will share just a quick testimony. I was a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the year 2000 and was stationed at COMNAVAIRLANT headquarters in Norfolk VA. I was in an office with one other Senior Chief and the time had come for us to receive our annual performance fitness report. Because there were only two of us, only one could get the top promotion recommendation (early promote) and the other would get the secondary recommendation (must promote). I had worked extremely hard and everyone, including myself, thought I was a shoe-in for the early promote recommendation. When the reports came out however, I was the must promote and the other Senior Chief received the early promote. I was livid and remember having an attitude for weeks afterwards. No one could tell me I didn’t deserve the top honor. No one but God, that is. And He did tell me because the next year, just 8 months after the reports were issued, the promotion results came out for Master Chief (our next higher promotion point) and guess what, we were both selected for promotion. The moral of the story? I would have been promoted whether I finished first or second. The other Senior Chief would not have been selected unless he was number 1. Th Lord convicted my heart that day to never feel resentfulness again when things don’t seem to work out the way I thought they should. He taught me that His plan is far beyond my meager understanding. He taught me to simply trust Him and allow His will to be done.
Question: So how about you? Have you had a similar experience? Maybe you’re going through something similar right now? My prayer is that you’ll learn like I did that God is in control and He has perfect plan for each of us. Trust in His plan and have the patience to wait for Him to carry it out in your life. In the end, you will be blessed in ways you never could imagine…because our plans are nowhere as holy as His are. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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