Genesis 25:27-34; 27:1-40
God chose Abraham, and promised to bless him and through
Abraham to bless the whole earth. After Abraham, the blessing passed to
Isaac and then to Jacob. The blessing then was passed down through the
descendants of Jacob through David until the birth of the promised Messiah.
Jesus is the promise personified. It is through Jesus that all the
nations on earth are blessed. It is Jesus that Abraham accepted and
looked forward to by faith.
The story of the fulfilling of the promise is one of
incredible miracles, providence and provision. It is also one of sorrow
and heartache.
For example, Abraham’s firstborn son was actually Ishmael.
Abraham pleaded with God to bless Ishmael and God told Abraham that He
would bless Ishmael, but the promise would be through Isaac. The story of
Ishmael reflects the sorrow and heartache of which I speak. From a
strictly human point of view, this might be explained because the boys had
different mothers.
However, the story of Esau and Jacob also reflects sorrow and
heartache. Isaac wanted to bless Esau with all his heart. He loved
Esau. But, the sorrow and heartache came through Esau. It is a
complicated story filled with family intrigue and betrayal. It is a very
human story. Isaac and Rebecca, husband and wife, are not on the same
page. Esau despises his birthright and Jacob steals the blessing meant
for Esau.
Behind and above it all are the sovereign purposes of God.
The story of Esau and Jacob is a story of Divine sovereignty and human
choice. It is beyond us to unravel all the mysteries, but there are some
valuable lessons we can learn by examining the story of Esau and Jacob found in
Genesis 25 and 27.
The story begins at the birth of the twins.
Genesis 25 tells us:
21Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife,
because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and
Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled
with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this
happening to me?” she asked.
23And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will
become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals.
One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your
younger son.”
If we focus on verse 23, we see that it is God’s purpose that
the older will serve the younger. This is confirmed in Malachi 1:2&3
and in Romans 9. Let’s look at Romans 9 verses 11-12:
11But before they were born, before they had done
anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message
shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12he
calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was
told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”[i]
For His own reasons God chose Jacob.
However, Isaac loved Esau. Let’s look at part of the
blessing that Isaac gave.
29May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Genesis
27:29
You will notice he says, “may your mother’s sons bow down to
you.” It is important to note that Isaac thinks he is blessing Esau.
His purpose then in this blessing is contrary to the direct word of God.
Isaac’s love for his son set him at cross-purposes with God.
The same situation had existed with Abraham, but Abraham had
submitted to the will of God. Scripture tells us it distressed him
greatly (Genesis 21:11), but he obeyed and sent his son Ishmael away.
This does not justify what Rebecca and Jacob did.
Rather than taking things in their own hands and lying, they should have
waited on the Lord. Their lies and deceit bore terrible consequences and added
to the sorrow and heartache in the family.
Jesus, our example, prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done.”
(Luke 22:42) He also taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.”
Both sides in this family took action that was contrary to
God’s revealed will. Isaac set himself at cross purposes with God by
trying to give to the older what God said belonged to the younger.
Rebecca and Jacob violated God’s standards by lying and deceiving to gain
what God said He would give.
The most common place this scenario is carried out in today’s
world is in regards to salvation. We have loved ones and friends who do
not know Christ or accept that salvation comes by trusting in Jesus alone.
The very thought of someone we love being condemned to hell is too horrific
to contemplate. The thought fills us with horror.
It is this thought that caused the Apostle Paul to write:
1With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter
truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. 2My
heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3for my
people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever
cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. (Romans 9:1-3)
I am sure Isaac and Abraham would have felt the same way
about the children they loved. We all do. When faced by the bitter
sorrow and unending grief caused by the loss of someone we love, we can pray
like Abraham and Jesus, “Not my will but thine be done. Or, like Isaac we
can set ourselves at cross purposes with God, and/or lie, steal and deceive
like Jacob and Rebecca.
In Romans 9 the Apostle Paul addresses a few of the issues.
One thing he says is:
14Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of
course not! 15For God said to Moses,
“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
This whole idea of God being fair is behind the teaching that
God will save everyone. This is a teaching that requires us to reject
large portions of the Word of God, including the example of Jacob and Esau.
The Apostle Paul says:
18So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he
chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people
for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human
being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the
one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21When a
potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of
clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22In
the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he
is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for
destruction.
Let’s consider the patience of God.
God gave Pharaoh 10 chances to soften his heart and let the
Israelites go, but he would not.
Esau was born with the birthright and had his father’s favor,
and yet Genesis 25 tells us that he despised his birthright and was willing to
sell it for a bowl of stew.
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord isn't really being slow about his
promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake.
He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
God wants everyone to repent. He invites everyone to believe in His
Son. He invites everyone to come, and yet many, many refuse to come that
they can have life.
The purposes of God, the blessing of God and the passing of
that blessing to the next generation divided Isaac’s family.
It still divides today. The blessing of God fulfilled
in Jesus Christ is at the center of what divides us. The Islamists say
that Jesus was a prophet but not the Son of God. They are at cross-purposes
with God. The Jews say the Messiah is yet to come. They also are at
cross-purposes with God. The atheists say there is no God. They too
are at cross-purposes with God. Many that call themselves Christian say
we have to live by the law. They are not at cross-purposes. Rather,
they are like Rebecca and Jacob who would lie and deceive to try to gain the
promise on their own terms.
Salvation and God’s blessings are free and available to all
who will accept them. However, they do not come on our terms. They
come on God’s terms. God’s terms are:
9If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11As
the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
12Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They
have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13For
“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
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