All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Genesis 27. Genesis chapter 27. This precious passage of scripture,
we behold the way that a hell-deserving sinner is accepted. by the thrice holy God. The scripture says in verse 1,
and it came to pass, and his brother Scott would always say
it, and it always does, the Lord's counsel is going to stand. It came to pass that when Isaac
was old and his eyes were dim and he could not see, And he
called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son. And he
said unto him, Behold, here am I. Now, Isaac believes, he knows,
that he's going to die. And we all know that we're going
to die, but as Isaac said, I don't know when. We don't know. We ought to be living every day
in the expectation of it. We know that we're gonna leave
this world. And I don't know for sure, I'm
just going by what some of the writers said, he was probably
at this time somewhere around 135 years old. And his eyes are faint, they've
grown dim, they're weak, he can't see. And now his lack of being
able to see is going to be that which providentially the Lord
was pleased to allow because of what's going to happen. Now,
I don't plan to go but just into the first five verses, but we
know that what's going to happen is that his son, Jacob, is going
to come in and will get the birthright, but at this point, Isaac is going
to give the birthright to Esau. He says in verse two, behold,
now I'm old, I know not the day of my death, now therefore take,
I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, thy bow, go out to the
field, take me some venison. Make me savory meat, such as
I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless
thee before I die. And Rebekah heard. When Isaac
spake to Esau, his son Esau went to the field to hunt for venison
and to bring it. Now, the firstborn was Esau. Now these two boys, they're twins. But Esau, the scripture says,
came out first, and being the firstborn, Isaac knew that the
firstborn would receive the birthright, the promise, which was a setting
forth, a spiritual eye of setting forth to behold the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ. But now his eyes are dim. And
we know that the Lord orders all of these things. Isaac is
going to do what he's about to do, but he's gonna not be able
to. But now here again, all things,
his eyes being dim, work together for good to them that love God. Because by divine direction and
decree, Everything that would typify the Lord Jesus Christ
was the way that it was gonna be done. Jehovah had instructed
Moses concerning the firstborn. He would set apart the firstborn. In Exodus chapter 13, verse two,
I'll read this to you. The Lord told Moses, he said,
sanctify, I want you to consecrate, I want you to dedicate, separate
unto me all the firstborn. Whatsoever openeth the womb among
the children of Israel, both man and beast, he said, is mine. The firstborn belonged to the
Lord because of the significance, and I'll read the scripture here,
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. So Isaac, he told Esau, he said,
I'm gonna die. I don't know when, but I'm gonna
die. Now, before I die, I'm gonna do the right thing. I'm gonna
give you the birthright. I'm gonna set forth that which
I know belongs to you because you're the first one. I want
you to go out and find me a kill of deer, make me so much savory
meat that you know I love so much, and bring it to me and
I'll bless you. Isaac is doing what he knows,
according to God's word, was the thing to do. Esau was the
firstborn. I said it pointed to the Lord
Jesus Christ, Colossians 1, 18, 19 says, and he, that is the
Lord Jesus, is the head. He's the, he's the supreme, he's,
he's the chief, he's the prominent, he's the master. He is the head
of the body, the church, all of God's elect for all of time,
who is the beginning, the Lord Jesus. He's the beginning. He's
that from which everything commences. He's the beginning. He's the
beginning of the firstborn from the dead, the first to rise on
his own power. When he said, you know, he said,
I have power to lay down my life. I have power to take it again.
I've received this power from my father, this promise from
my father. He's the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. He might be
the first in rank, in dignity and honor. For it pleased the
father that in him should all fullness dwell. You know, when
I looked at that word fullness today, and I've read that scripture,
I've read it so many times. And I looked at that word fullness. So what did he mean when he said
that in him should all fullness dwell? That is the abundance
of supplying all that was needful for the salvation of his church.
He's the head of the church. He's the head. He's the firstborn
that he should have the preeminence for it pleased the father that
in him should all fullness, everything for the securing of the church,
the people of God, all their need would be met in the Lord
Jesus Christ, that in him all fullness should dwell. So the
significance of the blessing upon the firstborn, this is why
it was so important. I don't want to die, Esau said,
Isaac said, I don't want to die until I bless you. You go do
this, I don't know when, but you go do it. But it gave glory
to the Lord. Turn to Romans 8, 28, 29. Romans 8, Romans chapter 8, verse 28 and 29. Romans 8, 28, and we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. It pleased the Father that we
should be conformed. We should be made into his likeness. He's the son. We're sons of God. He is the beloved. This is my
beloved son. and we are beloved of the Lord
in Him. He is the chosen of Jehovah. He is the set-apart One, and
we are chosen in Him. So it pleased God that we would
be found in His likeness, conformed to Him. So the firstborn, according
to God's Word, would receive the blessing because it's going
to point and be a remembrance of Christ who is the firstborn,
the one who possesses all the inheritance, who is the appointed
priest of the family. That was part of the blessing. And so here's Isaac. He's going to bless Esau because
that was the word of the Lord. That's how the Lord said to do
it. The firstborn was the one looked
upon and blessed as the one that pictured. It was a type of the
promised Messiah. And Isaac knew that. So he calls
his son. He is obeying God. This is what
he's doing. He knows the word of the Lord.
So he calls his son, and he's going to tell him, this is what
I'm going to bestow upon you. Not only the blessing of the
promise of the lineage and the descent of the Messiah, but also
the blessing of the land also that Canaan pictured. It was
the promise of heaven. This was not an insignificant
thing. So Isaac instructs Esau, you,
you go to the field. You take venison and make savory
meat such as I love. You bring it to me that I may
eat it, that I can enjoy it, that my soul may bless you before
I die. Now, even in what he's doing,
you see the commission of Isaac. Isaac is a picture here of the
father. He's a picture type and he's commissioning his son. You obey me. You obey me. You do what I commissioned you
to do. You go and Find a deer, you kill
that, you prepare that which satisfies me. You see the glorious
picture is set forth here. And this in the mind of Isaac,
this is what he's thinking. I'm gonna send you, the Lord
said, my meat. When Esau went, he'd gone out
of obedience to his daddy. The Lord said, my meat is to
do the will of him that sent me and to finish the work. Isaac speaks to Esau, but Esau's mother, Rebecca, and
here she is, she's listening, and she hears, and she heard
the instruction that her husband, Isaac, gave to Esau. And I'm sure, I know, I know
a great struggle immediately rose up in that woman's heart
because of something that she heard. Here again, the writers,
John Gill said somewhere between 75 and 90 years before this happened
right here. When these boys, when she had
just conceived, I want you to turn over to Genesis 25. This
is what she knew. And I went back and I could not
find where Rebecca ever spoke to Isaac about what the Lord
getting rid of. I couldn't find where she ever
told him. I'm not saying she didn't, I'm just saying I couldn't
find where she did. But here's what happened somewhere
between 75 and 90 years before. Now she just heard Isaac, her
husband, tell Esau, you go out there and get it, I'm gonna bless
you, and you're gonna get the blessing. Genesis 25. Verse 20 to 28. And Isaac was 40 years old when
he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian,
of Padan-Aram, the sister to Laban, the Syrian. And Isaac
entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the
Lord was entreated of him. And Rebekah, his wife, conceived,
and the children struggled together within her when we were on this
portion of scripture. I think I remember telling you,
this wasn't just a natural little bump of the elbow, you know,
or a little kick of the foot, a little bit, you know. You ladies
that have born children, and you know, I mean, you feel it.
You feel the baby move, and the husband comes over. She says,
oh, put your hand over here. I think I felt it. You know, I think
I did. It wasn't that. I mean, this was a battle that
was going on. These boys were fighting. It was more than just a little
natural thing. The children struggled together
within her and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? If the Lord has blessed me, if
the Lord has heard the prayer of my husband and he's granted
us children and this is a blessing of God, if it be so, why am I
thus? And she went to inquire of the
Lord. And the Lord said unto her, two
nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be
separated from thy bowels, and the one people shall be stronger
than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered
were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. First
came out red all over like a hairy garment. They called his name
Esau. After that came his brother out. His hand took hold on Esau's
heel. His name called Jacob, and Isaac was three score years
old. When she bared them, the boys
grew. Esau was a cunning hunter, a
man of the field. Jacob was a plain man, dwelling
in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because
he did eat of his venison, but Rebecca loved Jacob. So here's 75 to 90 years before.
She heard her husband tell Esau, you go out, I'm going to bless
you. 75 to 90 years before, the Lord
had told her, the elder is going to serve the younger. The elder is not going to get
the blessing. So here's two nations, two types of people within her. elect and reprobate. Elect those
chosen unto salvation and the reprobate. When I say reprobate,
what do I mean? Those left to themselves. Those
left alone. Those left to their own depraved
heart. These two boys represented one
or the other of all who would ever be born into this world.
Everybody's either Jacob or Esau. There's two nations, there's
two people. Rebecca was barren. Isaac prayed for her. The Lord
blessed her, prayed to give her children, and the Lord gave Isaac
a heart to ask, and the Lord answered the prayer that he moved
Isaac to pray. So these children grew, they
were struggling, a type, a picture of the spiritual battle that
rages within every regenerated vessel of God's mercy. Before
Rebecca conceived, She was at ease. Just like before spiritual conception. You that believe, you know what
I'm talking about. You know the battle that goes on. I mean,
you're just, you're struggling and you're, I'm telling you just
from my heart, I just, here recently, today, today, this morning, this
morning when I got up, Had one of the hardest days, just struggling
and struggling. My mind, couldn't get my mind
just, and just guilt. Why? Like, like Rebecca said,
why am I thus? What am I? I just, just these
times that are so hard and here before she conceived, everything
was fine. Everything was peaceful within
because it was just, Nothing there to struggle, but no sooner
did she conceive. These boys began to grow and
there was conflict. Galatians 5.17 says, for the
flesh, that is our corrupted nature, that old nature, our
fallen Adam, lusteth, lusteth, I looked it up, covets, or desires
that which is forbidden. Now read this scripture very
carefully. It says for the flesh, and it
uses that word, and somebody said, well, it insinuates it
in the next, well, it might insinuate it, maybe it does, but it doesn't
say it. The flesh lusteth against the spirit. It desires that which
is forbidden. It lusteth against the spirit,
and the spirit against the flesh. Now, you use the word against
twice, but it means opposes. With the flesh, it used that
word lust. Somebody said, well, you're reading
too much into it. Okay, well, I'm just telling you what the
words say. The flesh lusteth against the spirit. and the spirit
against the flesh. These are contrary one to the
other. They oppose each other. So you cannot do the things that
you would. The old man, restrained by the
Lord, cannot do all the evil that it would desire, believe
me. I'm telling you, if the Lord didn't put a restraint on any
man, any woman, if the Lord left them completely, totally without
restraint, that the old man cannot do all the evil, that new man's
present. And that new man, that believer
who desires to be good, he can't see the desire of his heart fulfilled
because of the presence of flesh. That's what Paul said in Romans
7, 18, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing. The will is present, but how
to perform that which it would, I find not. So where there's
no grace, Where there's no grace, there's a deceiving quietness. Where there's no grace, there's
a deceiving quietness. That one nature, that one nature
is fallen. We're all born with that fallen
nature. But when there's only one there,
there's no struggle. No struggle. No struggle within,
no fear of God, no remorse. Just old man always agrees with
himself. That's the old man, we all got
that. Old man, he agrees with himself. But there's a fight,
there's a fight going on because of these two nations. If it's
so, why am I though? So she went to inquire of the
Lord. 1 Samuel 9, 9 says, before time
in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, Thus he spake,
come and let us go to the seer, for he that is called a prophet
now before time was called a seer. So she went, she went to a seer,
she went to a prophet to inquire of the Lord. And it was then
that the Lord granted her the answer of why that battle was
raging. He said, there's two kind of
men, two kind of nations, there's two different people in you.
Two children, and they're different. They're different. There's gonna
be a battle that's going on. But he said, the thing is, he
said, the elder's gonna serve the younger. The elder's gonna
serve the younger. That wasn't the way that it was
normally done. So in Rebecca's case, the Lord
revealed that the elder brother, the elder brother was not gonna
receive the birthright. So we say, he's gonna serve the younger. The younger's gonna get the birthright.
She was told by the seer, obviously she knew from the Lord, which would happen, that it was
gonna be God's good pleasure. Turn over to Romans, and I'll
try to wrap this up, but coming down to that last verse tonight
from verse five, and that's where the struggle is gonna come, Romans
9. I'm telling you, boy, if we ever
The Lord gives us some light on this chapter right here. Romans
9, verse 6 to 16. Not as though the word of God
had taken none effect, for they're not all Israel, which are of
Israel. Not everybody that's a natural
Jew or born in Israel is of the spiritual Israel. Neither because
are they the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in
Isaac shall thy seed be called. They which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God. But the children
of the promise accounted for the seed. For this is the word
of promise. At this time will I come and
Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. For the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth it were said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion
on whom I'll have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. So the Lord revealed to Rebecca, I'm going to have mercy and compassion
on whomsoever I will. So Moses, firstborn, comes out,
man and beast, it's mine. He told Rebecca, this is what
I'm going to do right here. He rules in the heaven, he rules
in the earth. We do that which he says, no
man has the right to question. I thought he said here, but he
said right here, this is what he said right here. And so here
we are, he's revealing to Rebecca, it's not the one that wills,
runs, it's God that shows mercy. Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2, eight
to 10, scripture, Ephesians chapter two, eight to 10. For by grace
are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works,
which God hath ordained that we should walk in them. So hearing what Isaac said to
Esau, knowing that He's getting ready to bless Esau. He's gonna
give the blessing to Esau. And she remembers what God told
her when she was struggling with those kids. Now there's a tremendous
struggle going on with this woman. A struggle because she's gonna
have to bow. The Lord's word is gonna stand. His counsel is gonna stand. And so here's this, the revealed
will of God concerning her two boys. And here again, I never
saw where she ever talked to Isaac about this. It's not recorded
that I could find where she talked to him concerning these two boys.
Some of the writers would say, well, it just appears as though
that Isaac was just disobeying God. I don't believe that. That's
not recorded. No, just this woman was told
by the Lord, this is what's going to happen. And so here's a struggle
to be submissive to her husband and to be obedient to the will
of God. So Isaac, her husband's doing,
he's walking in the light that he's got and he believes it to
be the right thing, blessing the firstborn. And Rebecca is
now faced with a situation where he struggles. to do the right
thing. She knew that the Lord's word,
his will is immutable, that Jacob was God's chosen. She knew that. She knew that God was gonna bless
his people through the promised Messiah, through Jacob. That's
what the Lord said. But she has a husband who's her
head and she surely knew the word of the Lord to Eve in the
garden I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception,
and sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall
be to thy husband. You'll be subject to your husband,
and he'll rule over thee. So surely at this point, the
right thing to do is to obey God. And she's gonna trust the
Lord, who's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think. You're gonna wait on God, wait
on the Lord who rules in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth. And I pray that we might do that
too. We're gonna come to these times
in our lives and Lord willing, we'll pick up the verse six,
we'll go on from here. You know the story, but it's
a marvelous story of God almighty doing as he will in the armies
of heaven. and among the inhabitants of
the earth. And here's a blessed, blessed point that we come to
in our lives and we ask ourselves, what do I do? Are we going to
obey God? That's what Peter said. Brethren,
we ought to obey God rather than men. I pray that God prepare
our hearts to hear as this story unfolds and behold how the hand
of God moved and directed and ordered for His glory and for
the good of His people, for Christ's sake.