Jacob Sermon Series # 1 - The Obtaining of Blessings - Genesis 27
Donald Trump’s TV show called “the Apprentice” has become a hit in the ratings in the past two years. I have watched it about two or three times. It makes me glad I am not working within that type of an atmosphere. Talk about a stab in the back, dog eat dog world. If that’s what it takes to get ahead, to lie and slander and be down right rude to your co-workers, who of us with the Spirit of forgiveness and kindness and brotherly love would want such a job?
As we begin our Sermon Series on Jacob, it takes us to a similar situation. Isaac seems to be a godly version of Donald Trump (without the hair spray and arrogance) - as Isaac’s twins - Esau and Isaac are both after the one prize of the blessing. This “blessing” was really a unique thing. It carried with it the promise not only of the Promised and - but also the Promised Savior. It seems completely foreign to us in some senses. It was just a matter of words spoken. When we say to someone, “I hope you strike it rich,” or “have a nice day,” these are really just empty wishes with no power behind them. Yet when Isaac, the patriarch of God spoke them, they were regarded and believed to be the very words of God - with the power of God behind them. This was no mere superstitious belief. Time would prove how God’s blessings indeed were guaranteed through Isaac’s words. How would this all turn out? Who would get the blessing? What can we learn from it? We’ll see today as we consider the theme -
How Can I Get Blessed?
I. What does the “law” state?
Put yourself in Isaac’s shoes. You’ve got the most important blessing - the future of the world - on the tip of your tongue. The last thing you would want to do is to throw this Pearl before a swine. Wow, what a responsibility. Isaac had a 50/50 chance - if you look at it merely as a random act - of getting it right. He had to choose between giving the gift to Esau or Jacob. How would he know which to give it to?
Let’s start by looking at the two boys. Genesis 25:24-26 says, “When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.” From the very birth of the two boys, Esau had inherited advantages over Jacob. He was a manly boy - all hairy and ruddy - a man’s boy. This was no sissy. He also had the Law of God on His side. Later on through Moses God wrote,
Deuteronomy 21:15-17 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
This law had already been practiced in principle throughout the ages. The firstborn child was the one who was expected to receive the blessing of the inheritance.
As they grew up, these differences in the boys were magnified. Genesis 25:27-28 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau became a man’s man. He married much earlier than Jacob - who seemed to be more or less of a seeming momma’s boy throughout his first seventy seven years of existence - never even leaving home. This had an effect on the way that Isaac looked at them. He favored Esau. He liked Esau more. He wanted to bless Esau. It seemed like the “natural” thing to do.
Yet there were differences in the spirit of the two boys. This is quickly established in Genesis 25:29-34 -
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
From this we see a difference in the attitude toward the birthright. Whether he was serious or not, Esau treated it in a spiteful way - by selling it for a bowl of stew. Imagine that, handing over your inheritance for a happy meal at McDonald’s? Perhaps he felt he could fend for himself anyway - or that his father would never give him the blessing anyway.
Esau also showed his shallow spirituality when it came to his choice of wives. Genesis 26:34-35 says, “When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.” Who knows what these Hittite women did to irritate Isaac and Rebekah - they probably were idol worshipers - and arrogant as well - thinking that they were going to inherit a whole truck load of goods from Isaac and Rebekah. Back then the problem would have been exacerbated by the fact that they lived in close proximity to one another.
Therefore, from a spiritual point of view, you can’t help but think that Jacob stood head and shoulders over Esau. Luther speculated that as he lived among the tents, he was able to listen to Abraham and other believers in the early years of his life. From this point, apart from the law, Isaac should have had some strong leanings toward Jacob. Esau was an arrogant man consumed with the physical and Jacob a humble believe consumed with the spiritual. Yet Scriptures state that he primarily let his stomach determine who was the chosen one. Since Esau was the outdoors man and fed him good food - he loved Esau more than Jacob. Therefore, even in old age he was dead set on blessing the older firstborn - as the law stated he should.
Isaac may seem like a fool in our eyes for such a seemingly fleshly process of making decisions. Yet our flesh is the same as his. How many of you dated your spouse because of his or her faith? Or was it his or her eyes or figure that caught your eye? What is it that impresses you about people? Is it their clothes? Their personality? Their car? Or their faith? Why did you choose your profession? Was it to help people? To ensure you would still have time with your family and your Lord? Or did you choose it so that you could afford a nice house and car? We are blindly obsessed with the physical - mostly very shallow people - as much as we hate to admit it. We judge people by their hair, their smell, their clothes and their possessions. We also make our decisions based on the physical much more than the spiritual. Even with the promise, we are modern day Isaacs, living as if we were blind, driven by the stomach.
II. What does the LORD say?
In reality, the color of Esau’s skin or the order of his birth, the fact that Jacob was a home-body - it had absolutely nothing to do with who was going to get the blessing. While Rebekah was still pregnant with the twins, her stomach was really churning - the babies in her were doing some major jostling. So she asked the LORD what was going on.
Genesis 25:22-23 The LORD said to her, “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.”
Before they were even born, God had foreordained that the law of the firstborn would be reversed in this case. These two boys would develop into two nations - nations that would have a reversal of power. He had chosen that Esau’s people would serve Jacob’s people. In spite of what the common law was - and even though Esau was physically superior to Jacob, still Jacob was going to be the chosen one. It didn’t matter if Isaac knew this prophecy or not - if he wanted with all his heart to bless Esau. It didn’t matter if Esau really wanted the blessing - and tried his hardest to get it. Even though he had the blessing on the tip of his tongue - he was not going to bless Esau. God had foreordained that it was not going to be that way. Jacob was going to get the blessing, because God chose it to be that way.
Human nature begs the question - “why”? Why did God choose Jacob instead of Esau - to be the forerunner to the Savior - and inherit the Promised Land? What made him so special? It couldn’t have been some physical attraction. Jacob - according to his physical characteristics - had NOTHING on Esau. It couldn’t have been the law. Esau was born first. What about his faith? Is that why God chose him? No. It wasn’t that either. In Romans 9 Paul explains,
Before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls - she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (11-14)
Jacob was chosen because God decided to have mercy on Him and call him. It was completely dependant on the CALL and MERCY of God. The Word of God had promised Rebekah that Jacob was the chosen one. In light of this, Paul then declared in Romans 9:16 that receiving the blessing of God, “It does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
God’s Word makes it clear. God didn’t choose you because you really tried to know him. He didn’t choose you because he saw how faithful you would be, or how moral you had been. He didn’t say to Himself, “do you see how Jim has been seeking to know me? Do you see how faithful Shelley will be? I think I’ll choose them to believe.” Then why did He do it? If God’s choice is not influenced by your behavior, it has to ultimately go back to HIS OWN motivation. This is what we call MERCY and GRACE. He simply wanted to do give you something you didn’t have. This is the main difference between the Law and the Gospel. The Law states that you have to earn what you get. The principle of the Gospel says that you can’t earn what you have. It has to be given to you. In this text, we also see the principle that the promise supercedes the law. Even if something seems natural and according to the law, God’s choice - His gift of grace according to the Promise - gives gifts to those who don’t have any rights to it. In mercy God just decided to make you what you are today.
Yet we need to keep in mind that He didn’t do this with a club. He didn’t hit us over the head like a caveman and say, “me God - you Christian.” He treated us like a man treats a woman that he wants to marry. He would win our hearts with love. Before the creation of the world He determined when and how He was going to give us the blessing. At just the right time He showed us a wonderful sacrifice that He made for us - by becoming man. He showed us an awesome sacrifice that He went through on a cross - taking our sins on His shoulders. He displayed His grace and mercy and love through Jesus Christ. Then His Holy Spirit said to us, “I did this FOR YOU.” When we look at this wonderful message - and see what an ugly bride we were - the Holy Spirit moves us. He makes us say, “wow, what a wonderful sacrifice! What an awesome love! Why did you choose me?” Like Jacob we say, “Lord, I don’t deserve this choice! I’m not worthy of such a call! I’m not half the man Esau is!” Yet in faith our hearts and our voices say, “Thank you Lord! I believe!” It was through this wonderful message of the Gospel - this unconditional love - that God chose us and brought us to faith. Receiving the blessing - in the end - comes without ANY work of ours. That’s what GRACE is all about.
III. What did Jacob say?
Now, I’m sure there are many Edomites who would accuse me of being as blind as Isaac. “What Bible are you reading,” they would ask. “After all, can’t you see HOW Jacob GOT the blessing? He didn’t sit there and do NOTHING. He and Rebekah had to STRIVE and work for it - even lie for it!” No, my friends, I am not blind. The Scriptures do mention much of the “work” of Jacob and Rebekah. Let’s look at it for a moment.
Genesis 27:5-10 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.”
So that’s what they did. Jacob even put goat skin on his hands and neck, wore Esau’s clothes, probably even disguised his voice in order to smell and sound like Esau. When Isaac asked how he killed the animal so quickly, he even went so far as to say, “the LORD your God gave me success.” (20) When again Isaac asked if it was REALLY Esau, Jacob flat out lied and said, “yes I am.” After this flat out lie, then Jacob finally gave him the blessing. He 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.” (Genesis 27:27-29)
There are some, even Luther, who like to justify this lie- claiming that “God helps those who help themselves.” They say that the blessing needs to be taken by force! If they hadn’t done something, then Esau would have been sure to receive the blessing. “No”, they say, “you need to go after the blessing. You can’t just sit there and do nothing - hoping that God will somehow come to the rescue.”
It takes a lot of stretching to look at these lies in a “good” light. It seems like trying to put a suit and bow tie on a pile of manure, spraying it with perfume and saying, “now, that doesn’t seem so bad. Give it a kiss.” Does it seem right to lie and cheat in order to get a blessing? Isn’t this the same rationalization that people use to live together, bomb abortion clinics, and who knows what else? In Romans 3 Paul calls this attitude something worthy of condemnation - to “do evil that good may result.”
There are many gifts that God has given without any striving on the part of man. Mary did not have to lie to anyone to become impregnated with the Son of God. Jesus didn’t have to speak one lie or perform one deception to die on the cross. Paul didn’t do anything to seek God’s blessing - except hunt and kill God’s people. Yet God’s mercy was able to perform and work through all of these situations, because God’s grace works in spite of men. The big sign of grace in this text is the fact that God still blessed Jacob in spite of his lies and deceit. Even though he and Rebekah didn’t trust in God to give him the blessing without lies, God still blessed their deception with the blessing of the Savior. This is just another example of grace.
As Christians living thousands of years after Episode I of Jacob’s life - we have a similar situation. God has revealed His blessings to us - of forgiveness and life and salvation in Jesus Christ - through His Gospel. He’s already given us these things. We find those words of promise in Baptism. We find those words of promise in the absolution. We find them in the Lord’s Supper. We find them in the Bible. We don’t have to lie to receive them. We don’t have to put on goat’s skin and speak in a different voice. We don’t have to prepare a meal. This isn’t some sort of Apprentice, where we have to try and impress our LORD by downgrading others so that we get promoted up to heaven. We simply come as filthy sinners, and God gives us Jesus’ righteousness. All we do is come and listen. Come and taste. It seems a sad thing to me then that every Sunday we have at least 40 members who cannot or will not make the sacrifice of just getting in their air conditioned cars and coming to worship and receiving these blessings. What is the greater sin - the lying and deception of Jacob and Rebekah to GET the blessing, or indifference on the part of those who take it for granted? Both are sinful.
If you’ve been ignoring this gift, if you’ve been despising this blessing, the biggest and greatest message we have in this first story of Jacob, is that God blesses us not based on how red or hairy we are - how impressive we are - how zealous we are - or even how conniving we are - but on how GRACIOUS He is. In spite of our sin, in spite of our lack of zeal, God still says to you today, “if you’ve lied, if you’ve cheated, if you’ve been arrogant like Esau, come anyway. Jesus didn’t die for the righteousness, but for sinners - just like you. Repent of your sins, and believe that Jesus died for your sins. Believe that all is forgotten, all is forgiven in the cross of Christ, and you have the Promise of the Promised Land in heaven.” You can get these blessings through simple faith. With this blessing, we can forget what is behind, and strain toward what is forward. You’ve already been hired by the blood of Christ. It is not an easy path, as we will see in the coming episodes. But it is a blessed path that God has GIVEN to you. Don’t forget this. It’s the foundation to the future. Amen.
