A Life-Changing Lesson from the Stolen Blessing - Genesis Part 61

We are back in our study of the book of Genesis, verse by verse and we come today.

One of the most well-known events in the Old Testament, namely Jacob of stealing the blessing that his father Isaac intended to give to his older brother Esau go back and look at those events and then remembering all of that forward of a good talk about what difference does this make for me so you're ready ready are here we go. Verse one were in Genesis chapter 27 now 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, I am now an old man and I don't know the day of my death. Isaac was 137 years old, Esau and Jacob twins. Of course were 77 years old now. Then Isaac says get your quiver and bow and go out Esau into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Then prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat so that I may give you Esau my blessing before I die or not. Here's where the rub columns because back in Genesis 25. Rebecca went to the Lord. She was carrying twins and here's what God said to her, he said two nations are in your womb and the older that is, Esau shall serve the younger. That is Jacob. Now certainly Isaac knew what God had said. Certainly, Rebecca had told Isaac what God had said in here here. Isaac was determined not to bless Jacob whom God had chosen but determined instead to bless Esau that you say Lonnie would like wasn't that for Isaac direct disobedience to God. It was simple and why would he do that we don't know hundred percent for sure. But the Bible tells us about Genesis 25 that when the boys grew up. Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country. While Jacob was a quiet man staying among the tens and Isaac who had a taste for wild game love Esau but Rebecca love Jacob wanted Isaac do this.

Why was he determined to give the blessing to Esau friends.

It may be as simple as just pure favoritism. He just liked Esau better.

Well, what happened, verse five.

Now Rebecca was listening actually eavesdropping. As Isaac spoke to Esau. So when Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back. Rebecca said to Jacob look I overheard your father say to your brother Esau brings some game and prepare me some tasty food that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die. Now my son Jacob listen carefully and do what I tell you to do. Go bring me to young goats so I can prepare some tasty food for your father just the way he likes it, then you shall bring it to your father that he may need and bless you Jacob before his death, and this is precisely what happens now, let's remember that it wasn't too long before this that Jacob had Lord Esau into selling him Esau's birthright as you remember that when it when he did that traded it to them for bolus to now friends that was not illegal.

We know from the archaeological information we've gotten from newsy and ancient city in northern Mesopotamia from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that it was perfectly legal for one brother to sell their birthright to another brother.

So what Jacob did.

There might have been coming up but it was not illegal. Now this is a completely different story with Rebecca and Jacob are about to do here is not legal. It was deceit.

It was treachery. It was lying and it was stealing. And so after Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence when Esau came from hunting he to prepare some stew and brought it to his father and then he said to him, my father set up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing and his father Isaac asking who are you and he's on your side, your firstborn Esau. Then Isaac began to tremble violently and he said who was it then that haunted game and brought it to me. I hated just before you came, and I blessed him and he indeed will be blessed when Esau heard his father's words he burst out with a loud cry and Isaac said your brother Jacob came deceitfully and talk your blessing, then Esau asked Isaac, haven't you reserved any blessing for me my salon when you limit yourself. I mean, as a mistake was made here right Isaac gave the blessing the wrong person right yeah we say so why couldn't Isaac when he realized it. Just take the battle to call Jacob and is a Jacob, sorry I'm taken the blessing back from you and I'm giving it to Esau were originally intended to go.

I mean, you know you know you not go to the store would buy some would bring it home and I like it. We take the receipt. We go back we got our money back. Why couldn't he just do that well the answer is very simple, it's because we also found in tablets from the city newsy from the time of Abraham and Isaac that once a father's blessing had been given to a child it was your revocable. It was illegal to take it back. Isaac could not take back the blessing from Jacob for the simple reason that it was against the law arrive. Now he gives Esau. Isaac does the blessing is a deeply inferior blessing to the one he gave Jacob so Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him, and Esau said to him, the days of morning for my father are near.

After that, I will kill my brother Jacob, premeditated, first-degree murder here now with the words of her elder son reported to Rebecca she sent for her younger son, Jacob, and said to him your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in the Quran. That's the city were Rebecca had come from stay with him say the next four words with me for you, days, Sam Lowder, for you days until your brother's fury subsides.

And when your brother is no longer anger with the angry with you and forgets what you did. I'll send word for you to come back home. Little did Rebecca know that for a few days would actually be 20 years and during those 20 years. She died, and never again saw her beloved son Jacob alive. Now that's as far as we want to go in the passage we want to stop now and ask the most important question and everybody knows what that is all of you guys at our and our campuses and everybody here we ready gray.

Come on now make this good long time to cure as the salon okay I got the chapter but I swear I will see a thing in here for my life.

Well, let's talk about before we talk about how this affects you and me. Let's first agree that every body. In this chapter. Sin can we agree that Isaac Cinda by setting out deliberately to disobey God and blessed Esau instead of Jacob Rebecca Cinda by plotting and scheming and deceiving her husband she Jacob Cinda by going along with Rebecca's plot and then boldface lying to his father and Esau, Cinda by planning in his heart to murder his brother in a premeditated and deliberate way every body. In this chapter sin we really and yes, in the end God's sovereign will prevail in the end Jacob was preeminent over Esau as a matter of fact, the descendents of Esau, the Edomites don't even exist today in our world, but the descendents of Jacob, the Jewish people certainly do, and in the end Jacob inherited the Abraham a covenant just the way the sovereign plan of God intended it, and in the end, Jacob's descendents became the people of Israel, God's chosen people, just the way God's sovereign plan intended it as I said earlier, in the end of God's sovereignty prevail because friends God's sovereignty is always bigger than man sin. God's sovereignty. Praise the Lord is always bigger than man's sin. And that gives me great comfort to know about you but he gives me great comfort, particularly living in this town in Washington DC. When I look around this town and I see all that's going on in this town. How greater comfort is it to know that in spite of whatever God is doing in this town, God's sovereign plan will prevail in this town, and in this world, a man you Beth but my friends if we think that this family got away with all of this in scot-free. Even though God's plan prevail.

If we think they got away with all of the scot-free. We are grossly mistaken.

This family was shattered because of all of this in, it was never the same again. It was never healthy again. This family was never a whole again.

Rebecca and Isaac's relationship was never the same again after she had deceived him like this. And Rebecca never saw her beloved son Jacob. Again, these are consequences of their sin that God had allowed to come on them, Esau and Jacob were estranged from one another for 20 years as brothers and later Jacob's sons would deceive him just like he had deceived his father Isaac and they would carry out the same kind of treachery towards their brother Joseph that Jacob had carried out towards his brother Esau. The point here's the point is that even though God's sovereignty always triumphs in the end, as it did in this situation. Nobody can violate the word of God with impunity. Nobody Isaac couldn't Rebecca couldn't Jacob couldn't and you know what Moses could the great man of God. Moses, I want to show you one of the scariest passages for me in all the Bible. If you remember Moses had disobeyed God in Numbers chapter 20 and struck the rock more than once. When God said strike it wants, and as a result, God said to him, Moses, as a consequence of your sin, you will not get to go into the promised land. You will not get to go across the Jordan River well in Deuteronomy 3 when the Israelites arrived at the Jordan to cross it.

Listen to what Moses said. Moses said at that time. All I want to that's word say it out loud. Sam Lowder and I pleaded with the Lord pleaded with the Lord and I said please Lord let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan River, but the Lord would not listen to me. Yikes.

And the Lord said to me, Moses enough enough Moses that's it.

I want to talk about it anymore. The consequences of your sin in the wilderness.

I am not removing them.

I am not taking them away. You are not going into the promised land. Look at this now speed to me know more about this matter.

While, to me that's scary. You know we always think of our God as being a God of mercy, and he is a God of mercy, and we always think that when we go to him in trouble we can count on him to step in and help us with that trouble and we can but friends. There are times when God lays consequences of our sin on us where he says no. Pray all you want but no, I'm not lifting it. I'm not changing it and he said to Moses here. Moses enough you get the impression that Moses has been praying about this for years through the wilderness Township going hey Lord cannot go in he Lord can I go in a Lord can I go in a Lord can I go in and finally there. Actually there and he says hey Lord, can I go in and God says enough. Don't speak to me anymore about this Moses I've told you I'm not lifting this consequence of you soon.

I'm not doing friends when God puts consequences for our sin on us, and when he will not be treated to take them off. I don't know about you but that scares me to death.

So, as followers of Christ. Even though we are God's adopted children, and even though he loves us as his children through Christ friends. We must never forget that God is a holy God.

The God is a righteous God, and that you and I cannot violate the word of God with impunity any more than Isaac good Jacob good Rebecca could. Moses could or anybody else. Now look here, thereby look here. It is true, look at me that sometimes God draws in his mercy soften the consequences of our sin.

That is true. And it's also true. Look here that God sometimes in his mercy removes the consequences of our sin. That is true, but there are also times were God and his righteousness and justice decides he's going to leave the consequences of our sin on our life and the problem is when you will not commit the sin we have no Idea Which Way, God's going on this. We don't know whether God's going to remove the consequences soften the consequences or leave the consequences because every sin has consequences.

That's why David prayed Saul 19. He said keep your servant back from presumptuous sins with the presumptuous in its decision were we know were doing wrong, but where we presume we presume that God will free us from all the consequences of what were doing.

If the sin were we say hey Lord, I know I should be doing this phenomena come back and confess it and when I come back and confess it, you better not hold me accountable and you're not going to lay the consequences on me. Chris friends that's presumption God never promised that and as Moses and his Isaac and his Jacob and his Rebecca and his many other people have learned we play this game with God. All I'll go do it and then the God of the global take counselors up. We play the game with God folks that is a very dangerous game to play with God. Now let me conclude by saying that this week as I was on my knees and I said Lord what's the message for my life from this passage so that I can share it with other people. Sunday God said to me today with the lesson is for you long. The lesson is for you that you need to be less presumptuous in the way you live your Christian life you need to be more careful in the way you live your Christian life you need to be more circumspect in the way you live your life, you need to be more obedient in the way you live your Christian life because you can always assume that you're not going to do something where I just decide to leave the consequences on and you regret it.

The rest of your life you need to be careful on folks. That's my message as your pastor to you my messages. We as followers of Christ need to live less presumptuous lives.

We need to live more circumspect lives. We need to live more careful and obedient lives. Titus chapter 2 says while we are looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ watch that we should live. What's the first word say it soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age in the Bible often uses this word soberly or sober mindedness, and what this means for us. We are living with a sober mind is that we look forward and we say you know what if I do this and God allows the consequences of my life. What could that mean I need to think before I do it if I go out to dinner and I have a couple glasses of wine and then I get caught on the way home and given a DUI. What could that mean for my life. Could it mean I lose my security clearance. Could it mean that I lose my job. Could it mean that I'm publicly embarrassed. I have to resign my political position, sober minded if I commit adultery.

What could this mean if God allows the consequences to stay will I lose my family when I lose my children if I do this if I do that if I do the other thing, whatever it may be Lord, maybe you will remove the consequences. But if you don't, what is this mean what could happen yet we understand what I'm saying we together yeah and friends. God really worked it on me this week and salon. You just you cannot live the kind of cavalier life that sometimes you live with me. My mercy has been great to you.

Don't push me don't push me along friends.

I would say to you is your pastor, God's mercy's been great to you and that's wonderful.

Don't push it. That is a dangerous game to play, but spring with our heads bowed in our eyes close. I want to give your moment to do business with God. Some of us here are right on the edge of doing something that we know is wrong and weird presuming God's risk of not putting the consequences on his friends. I want to appeal to you, don't do it don't do it.

Some of us here are already doing things that we know God is displeased with, but where playing Russian roulette with God that the more we do these things.

He's just going to keep on ameliorating the consequences force folks don't do it come back to Christ. Come back to obedience don't live like that. There's a bullet in that chamber somewhere.

Don't do that if we need to talk to God about these things take a moment doing her dear Lord Jesus, help us have a balanced view of who you are because right now in our world, all we hear preached is God's love. God's mercy God's forgiveness. God's graciousness and that you are all of that. But, oh God, you are holy you are righteous you are just it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, our God is a consuming fire. The Bible says and oh God, we need to live with the fear that healthy fear of God in our life that causes us to live circumspectly and soberly carefully so bring that fear of God back to our lives. Lord is a healthy thing for many people here who need to back off of the way their living because their living presumptuously with you. God give them the power and the conviction by the spirit of God to do that operate or change our lives because we were here today. We sat under the teaching of the eternal Word of God. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, God's people said