From Beguilement to Blessing Part 1

Turn with me in your Bible to Genesis chapter 27 Dr. William Culbertson who was the late president of Moody Bible Institute for some 23 years Used to close his prayers with these words Lord help us to end well Help us to end Well Mr. Culbertson was one who ended his life. Well I'm afraid that there are many Christians today Who go through life and don't end so well We're gonna read a story today in Genesis 27 That if it wasn't in the Word of God, you'd never believe it But it's there Remember the Bible's the is a revelation of who God is Because God is infinite.

We are not we are finite people And God has a plan that goes way beyond anything we can ever imagine in and today We're gonna see the unfolding of that plan in such a unique way. It is is absolutely Unbelievable We're gonna read about deception We're gonna read about lies We're gonna read about things that are completely contrary to what we know as believers But are so relevant to our lives But God says I want you to see me in it I Want you to see how I?

overrule Even your sin to bring about my greater purposes Let's read it Genesis 27 Now it came about When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see That he called his oldest son Esau and said to him my son And he said to him here I am And Isaac said behold now I am old and I do not know the day of my death Now then please take your gear your quiver and your bow and go out to the field and hunt game for me And prepare a savory dish for me such as I love Bring it to me that I may eat So that my soul may bless you before I die and Rebecca was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home Rebecca said to her son Jacob behold I heard your father speak to your brother Esau saying 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 now therefore my son listen to me as I command you go now to the flock and bring Me two choice kids from there that I may prepare Prepare them as a savory dish for your father such as he loves then you shall bring it to your father That he may eat So he may bless you before his death Jacob answered his mother Rebecca behold he saw my brother as a hairy man, and I am a smooth man Perhaps my father will feel me and then I shall be as a deceiver in his sight and I shall bring upon myself a curse And not a blessing But his mother said to him your curse be on me my son only obey my voice Go and get them for me So he went and got them and brought them to his mother And his mother made savory food such as his father loved then Rebecca took the best garments of Esau her elder son which were with her in the house and put them on Jacob her younger son and she put the skins of the kids on his Hands on the smooth part of his neck She also gave the savory food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob Then he came to his father and said my father.

He said here I am Who are you my son Jacob said to his father? I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me get up, please Sit and eat my game that you may bless me and Isaac said to his son How is it that you have it so quickly my son? He said because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me then Isaac said to Jacob Please come close that I may feel you my son whether you are really my son Esau or not 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.

He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands So he blessed him. He said are you really my son Esau? He said I am so he said bring it to me And I will eat of my son's game that I may bless you. He brought it to him and he ate He also brought him wine and he drank and his father Isaac said to him, please Come close and kiss me my son 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 is blessed 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 May people 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 now it came about as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had hardly gone out of the Presence of Isaac his father that Esau his brother came in from his hunting Then he also made savory food and brought it to his father and he said to his father Let my father arise and eat of a son's game that you may bless me and Isaac his father said to him Who are you?

He said I am your son your firstborn Esau and Isaac trembled violently and said who was he then that Hunted game and brought it to me so that I ate of all of it before you came and blessed him Yes, he shall be blessed when Esau heard the words of his father He cried out with an exceedingly great bitter cry and said to the father bless me even me also Oh my father and he said your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing Then he said is he not rightly named Jacob for he has supplanted me these two times He took away my birthright and behold now He has taken away my blessing and he said have you not reserved a blessing for me?

But Isaac answered and said to Esau behold I have made him your master and all his relatives I have given to him as servants and with grain and new wine. I have sustained him now as for you Then what can I do my son and Esau said to his father? Do you have only one blessing my father bless me even me also my father So Esau lifted his voice and wept Then Isaac his father answered and said to him Behold the way from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling and away from the dew of heaven From above and by your sword you shall live and by your brother you shall serve But it shall come about when you become restless.

You shall break his yoke from your neck So Esau bore grudge against Jacob Because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him And Esau said to himself the days of mourning for my father are near Then I will kill my brother Jacob Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebecca She sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him behold your brother It's Now therefore my son obey my voice and arise flee to her run to my brother Laban Stay with him a few days Until your brother's fury subsides Until your brother's anger against you subsides He forgets what you did to him.

Then I shall send and get you from there Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day and Rebecca said to Isaac I am tired of living because of the daughters of hath Jacob takes a wife from daughters of hath like these from the daughters of the land What good will my life be to me quite a story, isn't it? beguilement Blessing and its backlash That's where we're gonna go this week and next week This morning we're gonna only only cover point number one the beguilement and I want you to see three things First is the condition of Isaac second the conniving of Rebecca and third the conduct of Jacob The first thing I want you to see of course is the condition of Isaac he was deteriorating both physically and Spiritually the man was getting old.

He was a hundred and thirty years of age in Genesis chapter 27 He thought he was about to die So he gathers his son with him in a very private kind of meeting He saw and said he saw I want you to go out and give me some savory meat And I want you to fix me a dish and and when you do that, I'm going to bless you I'm going to give you the blessing he saw but most importantly He was deteriorating Spiritually You must note that when a father was about to die. He was to bless the firstborn son He was to bless that son in a very significant way In fact, if you read over in Deuteronomy 21 verses 15 to 17 It says that the father is to bless the firstborn son Even if he didn't love the firstborn son and even if he didn't love the mother of the firstborn son In fact, it says if a man has two wives Let me read it to you Deuteronomy 21 verse number 15 if a man has two wives now The Bible doesn't recommend that you have two wives one is all you need.

Amen That was kind of a weak. Amen So you might want to say that again real loud fellas because you got to go home and have lunch with your wives It's only good to have one wife The Bible says if a man has two wives The one loved and the other unloved and both the loved and the unloved have born him sons that the firstborn son belongs to the Unloved and it shall be in the day.

He wills that he has to his sons He cannot make the son of the love the firstborn before the son of the unloved who is the firstborn? But he shall acknowledge the firstborn the son of the unloved by giving him a double portion of all that he has For he is the beginning of a strength to him belongs the right of the firstborn so the firstborn son is to receive the the oral blessing the double portion and Isaac's goal in Genesis 27 is to bless Esau he loved Esau right Isaac loved Esau who loved Jacob Rebecca.

Who did God love? Whoo, gotta be careful with that one, right? The Bible says Jacob. I have loved Esau. I have hated. Well, what does that mean? Let me tell you something God has a special love Relationship for those who commit their lives to him and trust him Those who are rebellious against him as Esau was God has a different kind of relationship with him But the Bible does say that God loves the entire world But for our point of the story, we know from Genesis chapter 25 That Rebecca loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau you see what I see in this story is a man a father who was Reluctant to fulfill his responsibility to his family Most importantly, I see a man who was unwilling to fulfill his responsibility before God That is very important because Isaac himself knew Knew for certain that the firstborn Esau was not in the covenant line of promise But Jacob was why?

Because God said so and I find myself looking at us today you and me together It isn't not true that there are a lot of things. We know that God says But because we are emotionally tied to something because we have an affection toward Something else we are more prone to do that than to do what God says Is that not true?

Sure. It is we can read Genesis 27 and and say, you know Isaac, you're an old man You're a fool. You shouldn't have done that But you know what we to do a lot of the same things that Isaac himself did right here in Genesis 27 What I see in this family is a is a lack of trust Here Isaac gathers his son in Secrecy we know that because Rebecca is eavesdropping on the conversation and Isaac gets his son Aside says that's this is what we're gonna do I you go out and you you get some game and you bring it in you you fix that savory dish that I love And I'm gonna bless you I'm gonna give you the blessing.

You're the man. He saw I'm gonna give it to you This man's condition, although he had been weakened physically the worst thing about it Is that spiritually he was? Weakening he knew what God said he knew the right of the birthright was to go to Jacob He knew what God said I reminded of the words of Paul in Romans chapter 8 Paul says these words For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh But those who are according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit for the mind set on the flesh is death The mind set on the spirit is life and peace Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God for it does not subject itself to the law of God for it is not Even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God We fall into the same category We know what God says But because our minds are set on fulfilling the lusts of the flesh We set aside the law of God to do what we think is best and that's the condition of Isaac That's where he was and that moves us to point number two the conniving of Rebecca The text says that she was eavesdropping She heard the conversation and the big battle in Theological books is this did Rebecca do the right thing?

Was Rebecca right in deceiving her husband Was Rebecca right in lying to her husband? There are many people who think so now I know some of you will probably disagree with me or that But that's okay because I got biblical references that back up what I say that line is always always wrong And people will say well, you know Rebecca Rebecca didn't tell Isaac if you go back to Genesis 25 you realize that that Rebecca went to pray and and she came to God came to her and told her that that that Jacob was going to be the The inheritance of the blessing and he would be in the covenant land of promise and and some people say well Rebecca never told Isaac.

Can you mean to tell me that for 70 years? Rebecca never told Isaac that Jacob was a son of promise I got a hard time believing that one and some people will say well, you know She was lying and deceiving to protect Isaac Isaac was in the wrong. So she lied and deceived and disobeyed God in order to protect her husband I don't believe that either others will come along and say, you know Because she knew the providence of God because God told her she had scripture to back up what she did God said and if she didn't step in He was gonna bless Esau and she had to step in because God wasn't big enough to handle the problem So somehow she was gonna step in the handle it for God because God needed her.

So she did the right thing There are some who? Who believe that I don't believe that I believe that she deceived she connived She lied She sinned against God But listen in so doing God brought about his providential will This story is so incredible that if you don't see God in it, you're gonna miss it Why because no matter what sin you commit God's providence overrides all sin and God will accomplish his purposes no matter what Psalm 7610 says that God will use the wrath of man to praise his name.

God specifically said he raised up Pharaoh Why? to demonstrate God's greatness throughout the world He raised up Pharaoh He raised up a man who didn't know Joseph and through the Israelites in the Egyptian Bondage for 400 years why because God wanted to manifest his name to the world God says I will take the sin of man and I will orchestrate my providential will and bring about my great glory because I am going to do things in a way you will never Understand because I am a God of mercy I am a God of grace and I am a God of love and you will never Understand the infinite mind of God and God would take the sin of a woman by the name of Rebecca to orchestrate his divine purposes Folks God is incredible It's about God Don't see the sin of Rebecca and Isaac so great that you don't see the providential working of God orchestrating the events to bring about his greater purposes Don't think for one moment that your sin is so bad that it's gonna throw God's plan off It's not God will take your sin and Bring about a greater purpose Because God Hate to break the news to you Really is bigger than you Really is greater than you and his sovereignty rules over all And Rebecca she would do all this conniving and she'd do all this stuff and she'd bring Jacob in and she taught the Jacob and Say, you know listen to my voice.

This is what we're gonna do I want you to go get me some some some goat skin and I want you to go give me some goat hair We're gonna we're gonna orchestrate this whole thing to bring about our great purposes and it brings me to this. Well, you know, what do you do? Ladies, what do you do when when your man is weak? What do you do when your man is not the spiritual leader what do you do when your man doesn't obey the Word of God when you know what God's Word says without a shadow of a doubt and Rebecca knew And your husband is gonna go a different direction What do you do You step in and cheat lie see Can I have a plan Is that what you do?

Is that the right thing to do? Is that the lesson of Genesis 27? Listen, I'm just doing Rebecca did It worked for Rebecca. It'll work for me Folks wait to the end of the story I'm gonna show you how it didn't work out too good for Rebecca But on the outset she says we got to do something here It isn't not true. We see our husband making a mistake. So what do we do? We put our mind in the high gear man. We we got to do something. He's gonna blow it again What do you do ladies? What do you do? Do you do what?

Rebecca did did she love her husband? I Guess she did wouldn't know by the story Did Isaac love Rebecca yeah way back in Genesis 24 when he first saw her took her into his tent loved her What does a woman do?

Whose husband is going to operate contrary to the Word of God? Well, she's got God's Word on her side. She loves Jacob. She's got God on her side Poor Jake Isaac. He didn't have God on his side man. He he's going against God But boy, she's got God on her side because she knows the plan of God See, so she's gonna enact that plan like a like a like a good wife She she knows what God's gonna do it. So she's gonna help God out as if God Needs her help But isn't that how we think we think somehow God needs our help and if we just Tweak the truth a little bit this way and tweak the truth a little bit that way Everything will be okay because after all how's God gonna do it without us?

Let me tell you something God made the whole world without you. I'm sure he could orchestrate his plan without you as well but a lot of times We tend to back away For what we know to be true If at any time You or your spouse Decide that God and his word and What he has said is not the number one element of my life You will slowly begin to move away from one another The amazing thing the more the closer you get to God the closer you get to one another the further you get from God The further you get from one another Let's just imagine byproduct because Mary God designed the marriage institution to function the way he wants it to function And if you don't function it in a way that he designed it You grow further and further apart and Isaac and Rebecca had grown further and further apart So what does Rebecca do she sets out to deceive her husband?

She says obey me my son Listen to my command my son Jacob's 70 years old. I Mean, come on Jacob be a man here. He's 70 years old. He's still a mama's boy Come on, Jake. Get with it, man. You gotta say mom. You can't do that. That's deceiving God. That's deceiving dad You can't do that. But what's Jacob do? Oh goody. Goody. Goody. It sounds pretty good idea mom How am I gonna get that blessing? And when you come and you you look to put number three the the conduct of Jacob, what do you see Jacob?

What's Jacob say Jacob says this? mom He saw my brother as a hairy man, and I'm a smooth man Perhaps my father will feel me then I shall be as a deceiver in his sight You get the humor of that I'll be as a deceiver in his sight and I shall bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing that is if I go In there and he feels that I'm smooth. I'm a deceiver But if you think of a way that you can make me hairy, I won't be a deceiver I that's so humorous to me It's not is this the right thing to do? It's is this the safe thing to do if it's safe.

It must be. Okay, cuz I won't get caught Where's the rightness the truthfulness in the whole scenario? These are the patriarchs of our faith Abraham Isaac and Jacob And look at their lives It takes you back to the Word of God and God says but look at your life What are you doing to deceive?

What are you doing to manipulate the events to control the events because you don't trust me Why is it you don't believe what I have said? Why is it you let your affections and your emotions go a different way instead of following what I say in my word? Why is it you don't obey me? Even though you don't feel like obeying me and I didn't feel like obeying God he felt like giving the blessing to Esau and Darn tootin. That's what he's gonna do. And that just like you and me. I Read Genesis 27. I got Lance written all over it substitute Isaac for Lance Jacob for Lance or Lance for Rebecca Lance for Jacob Lance for free.

I put my name in there I'm just like these people and God saying wake up Lance. Wake up. Don't sin against me Believe in my word Trust me and yet on the other hand I say and see that when I do sin against God God's got a bigger plan than just me even though I sin God will overrule all of that to bring about an incredible purpose because Life is about God. It's not about me. It's about his glory being put on display And that's what God's gonna do and as this story unfolds in the weeks ahead We're gonna see how God overrides all things to bring about his marvelous glory Let's pray