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Genesis 27:1-29

The Power of a Blessing

  • Rich Jones
  • Weekend Messages
  • June 17, 2018

The blessing Abraham received from God was given to Isaac, whom Sarah bore to him in her old age. But who would be next to receive that blessing?
There are many lessons from this story, but they’re not lessons we learn from their excellent character; we learn from their poor example. God allows the reality of who they are to be seen because we can learn many lessons about character in our own lives as well lessons about the faithfulness of God in spite of our weakness and failures.

  • Sermon Notes
  • Scripture

 Genesis 27:1-29

The blessing Abraham received from God was given to Isaac, whom Sarah bore to him in her old age.But who would be next to receive that blessing?Isaac married
Rebekah and eventually she became pregnant with twins.

But in the womb they struggled together, and Rebekah inquired of the Lord as to what was happening. “There are two nations within you,” the Lord said,
“and the older will serve the younger, and one nation will be stronger than the other.” In other words, the covenant of blessing that God gave to Abraham
and then to Isaac would be passed to the younger of the twins.This was not customary in that culture, but this is what God had decided.

When Rebekah was giving birth to the twins.The first that arrived was covered with hair, so they call him Harry.Well, actually, they called him Esau, which
means hairy.And afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding onto Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob, which means heel snatcher, or
supplanter, or, in other words, one who catches others by the heel to trip them up.

Jacob lived up to his name.One day when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have
a swallow of that red stew, for I’m famished.”But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”And Esau responded, “I am so hungry I’m about to die;
so what use then is the birthright to me?”And Jacob said, “First swear to me.”So Esau sold his birthright to Jacob.

When we come to chapter 27, Isaac is 137 years old, his eyes are dim from age and he doesn’t know how much time he has left to live, so he decided it was
time to give the blessing that would normally belong to the eldest son.

The problem is that Isaac favored Esau over Jacob.Esau was ruddy and an outdoorsman.He was an archer and a hunter and Isaac had a taste for wild game.Rebekah
favored Jacob.Perhaps because she knew that he was to receive the blessing handed down from Abraham or perhaps it was because he was a peaceful man,
living in tents.

One day Rebekah overheard Isaac telling Esau to hunt some wild game and prepare his favorite stew after which Isaac would give the blessing to Esau.This
wasn’t right.She knew this was not God’s plan, but rather than trusting that God would somehow fulfill His promise, she took matters into her own hands
and hatched a plan to deceive Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob.

Isaac wasn’t trusting God’s plan either. Notice the secrecy. Notice the conspiracy.Normally the father’s blessing would be given before the entire family
because it was like a will distributing the family wealth and headship.

Isaac knew that God had determined that the older would serve the younger.He knew that Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob and he also knew that Esau
had disqualified himself from spiritual leadership when he took two Canaanite women as wives, yet he resisted God’s plan.

There are many lessons from this story, but they’re not lessons we learn from their excellent character; we learn from their poor example. God allows the
reality of who they are to be seen because we can learn many lessons about character in our own lives as well lessons about the faithfulness of God
in spite of our weakness and failures.

I. Don’t Resist God’s Plan

  • Isaac knew what God had said to Rebekah, that the older would serve the younger, but he decided to resist God’s plan. 
  • It’s never a good idea to resist God’s plan, it always ends badly.I could give example after biblical example, but I’m sure there are many in this
    room who have experienced that themselves and know that it is true. 

A.Without vision; people perish

  • Isaac’s eyes are too dim to see. This is true physically, but I submit it was true spiritually as well. He didn’t see the spiritual consequences of
    resisting God’s will for the boys.
  • He favored Esau because he was a man’s man and brought venison and game that he enjoyed. Isaac ignored God’s Word and did what he wanted.
  • But what he couldn’t see is that ignoring God’s Word has long term consequences. God knows what is best for our lives and the best thing we can do
    is to live in agreement with what God says is right. 

Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the word of God, happy is he.KJV

  • When we think of having vision we often think of what might be possible in our lives. 
  • But having vision also means seeing that when we sow to the Spirit we reap from the Spirit and when we sow to the flesh we reap from the flesh.

Galatians 6:7-8, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh
will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

 

Genesis 47:8-9, Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one
hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life,”

B. Worldly ways lack power

  • Rebekah is not trusting God in this story. She knows what God said, but when she overhears Isaac’s plan, she took matters in her own hands.
  • The result is that the brothers struggle once again as they did in her womb. In fact, at the end of all this, Esau makes it known that once their father
    Isaac is dead, he will kill his brother Jacob.
  • There are so many biblical examples of what happens when we try to live by own cleverness, conniving, or fleshly efforts. 

Illus –Moses killed an Egyptian and had to spend the next forty years in the desert.Sarah used Hagar to have a child and the world suffers for it today.

 

Zechariah 4:6, Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
says the Lord of hosts.”

Psalm 127:1-2, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps
awake in vain.It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for it is He who gives to his beloved even while
he sleeps.

II.Desire the Blessing Even Now

  • Esau didn’t value his birthright and gave it away because of his fleshly hunger.
  • But now he desperately wants the blessing that goes with his birthright because he now understands the value of it.
  • There is a lot of personal application in this part of the story because we all need God’s blessing.

A. Ask God to be your father

  • Isaac is not your model father in this story. He is plotting to do something he knows God doesn’t want. He’s putting his entire family against each
    other because of this decision. They all have a part in what went wrong here, but it started with the father’s decision to go his own way instead
    of listening to God.
  • The importance and power of a father is clearly seen in Isaac’s poor example.
  • Many people struggle in their lives because they lacked the blessing of having a good father, but there is still hope for those who carry these wounds. 

Illus – Recently I spoke about my own father and the troubles he had in his life being an alcoholic and clearly not invested in our lives.

That came to a crisis for me when I was 21 years old, in fact it was my birthday. I was a student at Oregon State and I began to see the consequences of
not having a good father and I became very angry.

But all that changed when I received a word from God that completely changed my life. “I will be the Father to you that you never had. I will never leave
you or forsake you. I will bless you and put My hand on you and I guide your steps.”

Illus – When I went to OSU my grades were bad, but later, when I went to Multnomah University, everything changed. I began to see the blessing of my Heavenly
Father on my life.

Illus – God promised David that He would be Solomon’s Father…

2 Samuel 7:14-15, “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him… but My lovingkindness
shall not depart from him,”

2 Corinthians 6:16-18, For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will
be their God and they shall be my people… “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Illus – Jacob had to run for his life because of the hatred and vengeance of Esau, but on the way he had an encounter with God that transformed him and
Jacob began to live under the hand of God.

Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave
you until I have done what I have promised you.”

A.Be a blessing in return

  • When you come to the realization that God will be your Father and will bless you and heal the hurts and wounds of living in a broken world…
  • When you have received so much from God, what do you do in response? 

Illus – When God provided miraculously for me to be able to go to Multnomah, I had to respond by pouring my whole heart into it.

  • If God has so blessed you; can you not then also be used of God to bless others?
  • If you are a father – bless your children with the blessing of a father, but there is a blessing that can come from a mother as well. There is also
    a blessing of a grandparent that will make a tremendous difference in the life of the grandchildren.
  • We must realize the importance of being a blessing to those that God puts in our life. 

App- What is the blessing that Isaac gave?

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future
and a hope.”

Illus – Jewish families believe that they are the chosen of God and convince their children from birth. What a contrast to what the children in Palestinian
Arab families are taught.

  • If you don’t understand the power of God in your life, you will be on the wrong course.

Matthew 22:29, But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the scriptures nor the power of God.”

Illus – When God had healed me from the wounds of growing up without the blessing of a good father, He allowed me to be used in my father’s life to be
a blessing to him, even leading him to faith in Christ.

A.Receive the blessing even now

  • When Esau came in from hunting game and prepared the dish as Isaac had requested, he came to his father and presented the ‘savory food’ and asked for
    the blessing.
  • Isaac was shocked and trembled violently, “Who was it that came in with savory food and I blessed him? Indeed; he will be blessed.”
  • Of course, it was Jacob. He had taken the birthright by conniving and now he had taken the blessing as well. “Do you have a blessing for me? Is it
    too late?” Esau cried. “It’s too late,” Isaac basically said, “You will have a difficult life. But when you can’t take it anymore you will break
    his yoke from your neck.”
  • This is where the application for us must be understood. You can receive a blessing even now from your father in heaven. It’s not too late.

Illus – A few years ago our church had an outreach service with Luis Palau. Those who came forward and responded to the gospel went into the fellowship
hall for prayer, Jordi and I stood at the door to make sure everyone had the opportunity for prayer without interruption when a young gal came up to
us and asked, “Is it too late?”

  • Of course it’s not too late! God will bless you even if you asked Him on your death bed.

Illus – Jesus gave a parable of men who were waiting in the square of the city to be hired.

Matthew 20:1-16 The parable of laborers in the vineyard.

Illus – Two men were being crucified with Jesus; and one asked for a blessing.

Luke 23:39-43, One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and
us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed
are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember
me when You come in Your kingdom!” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

  • It’s not too late; be blessed of your Father in heaven. What turned my dad around is when he realized that he had wasted his life and wanted to make
    the rest of years mean something.
  • Ask God to be your father and know that He will be with you and will walk with you and will lay His hand on your life and will bless you. 

Genesis 27:1-29     NASB

1 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2
Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to
the field and hunt game for me; 4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you
before I die.”5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home,6
Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7’Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8
Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them
as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11
Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be
as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son;
only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. 15Then
Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins
of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son
Jacob.
18 Then he came 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 as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me.” 21
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came close to Isaac
his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, because
his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he
said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26
Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.”
27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed;
28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;

29 May peoples serve you,And nations bow down to you;Be master of your brothers,And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.Cursed be those who curse you,And
blessed be those who bless you.”

 

 

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