Seeing The Big Picture Series

How many enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles? Normally, we turn all of the pieces face-up; set aside those that have a straight edge (the outside frame) and start assembling those first. Then we begin to assemble the rest of the pieces, looking for pieces that more obviously fit in a section, and work on that section. In the process of putting the puzzle together, sometimes we get frustrated and try to force a piece into a certain place that actually shouldn’t be there, or when we lose a piece (story of Christmas with a family, dog ate the pieces of the puzzle). It is easy to get so focused on that one piece and miss the most important component which is the big picture on the box. It is the picture that provides the vision of what is being assembled. Without the big picture it makes it difficult to see what each piece brings to the puzzle.

In the book of Genesis, God continually speaks to us about the big picture and included in it is the master plan of salvation, redemption, and restoration, why it was necessary, and clues to what it will look like in the end. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle where every piece plays a vital role in creating the puzzle. We’ve been putting the pieces together from the Fall, to God calling out one person, who will one day be a nation to represent Him on the earth, and through whom the whole earth would be blessed. And the next piece of the big picture is Abraham’s sons, Isaac and Esau another piece of the puzzle in the big picture.

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Genesis chapter 27 starting at verse 1.

1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

What can we see in these first four verses?

1. Isaac’s plot

Many years have passed since chapter 26 and we are not sure just how old Isaac was at this time (some speculate close to 140 years old). But we do know that he was old and his eyes were failing him. Some Bible commentaries interpret this as Isaac becoming spiritually blind because as we see Isaac aging, he is losing sight of the big picture and is only focusing on himself.

In his old age, Isaac had given himself over to willfulness and self-gratification and he was determined to have his way despite God’s word. Isaac was more focused on what gave him pleasure, than on following what the Lord had said. Because of this self-centeredness, he plotted his next moves covertly.

He called Esau and said, “I am old - I did not know the day of my death.” Based on the uncertainty of the future, he wanted to put things in order and wanted to bless his first son, Esau. Whether he had forgotten the oracle from God or never took it to heart is difficult to say. In either case, his intent to bless the older son, the one who had sold his birthright to the younger son, created a major crisis.

Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die”

(Gen 27:3-4).

Esau was Isaac’s favorite because he was a hunter and Isaac had a taste for wild game (Gen 25:28). That’s a really good reason to want to bless his son Esau with all his resources, with all the promises and blessings that he had received from God, don’t you think? And Isaac wished "with all his heart" to bless and to pass on his lifetime of blessing to Esau.

What’s interesting to note is that Esau and Isaac were actually a lot alike. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils and Isaac was willing to go against the overarching plan of God for all the nations of the world and give away all of God’s blessing to the wrong person, in exchange for a steak dinner. In his later years in life, he lost sight of the big picture of God’s plan of blessing and redemption for the “whole world” because of his near-sightedness or spiritual blindness. Because he became so inward-focused, he didn’t consider the negative repercussions of his plot. He was trying to force a piece into God’s puzzle. But as we will see, his plot was providentially unearthed and then witness: