All right, Genesis 27. The scripture we're going to
deal with tonight is one which cannot be perceived or received
except in the light of the understanding of the Holy Spirit. that be given
from God, that be given from the Spirit himself, from above. This passage deals with the preparing
of Jacob, the younger brother of Isaac and Rebekah, to receive
the blessing of Isaac. Now, traditionally, this blessing
The recipient of this blessing would go to the elder son, which
would be Esau. We dealt with this last time.
But the Lord told Rebecca prior to her delivery, in Genesis 25,
told her because of the turmoil that was going on within her,
there was a battle going on. And he told her in Genesis 25,
23, two nations are in thy womb. Two separate people, born of
the same parents. These boys were twins. They,
from one blood, would come forth two different nations, spiritual
nations. The Edomites, which is Esau, those that were rejected of God. And then on the other hand, Israel,
people beloved of the Lord. You remember when the Lord asked
Jacob when he wrestled with him, he said, what's your name? He
said, Jacob. He said, not anymore. Your name
is Israel, a prince with God. So she went to inquire of the
Lord and the Lord told her in the way that she went to inquire,
whoever she went to see, said, two nations are in thy womb.
Two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. Those
with a different character, different disposition, different love. And the one people shall be stronger
than the other, referring to actually Esau, strong, courageous,
stout, bold, hard. The elder, that one that was
stronger stout, shall serve the younger. The Lord determined
it to be so. Why am I thus? You got two different
nations. You got two different nations,
two different people, two manner of men. Rejected and accepted. In this struggle, these two boys,
we see the spiritual conflict between the flesh and the spirit. It all was being revealed in
these two boys that Rebecca was going to give birth to. And so
the battle is for dominance. That's what, that's what it's
over. Dominance. Blessing the spirit. So this
is the word of the Lord that was given unto Rebecca. And so
what she's going to do in this passage that we'll deal with
tonight is based upon what God told her. This is what she knows. Now, brethren, it is with this
revelation in mind. that we consider this passage,
and I want to just set forth that knowing the blessing that
is rendered by Isaac, Isaac's the dad, and he's going to bless,
he's gonna bless, these two boys will be, Lord willing, we'll
look at this next week or so. The blessing that's going to
be given unto these two boys, is going to be summed up, revealed
by the Spirit of God in the book of Hebrews. Now listen to this.
Now I'll just say this because we all know the story. As we
look at this, you know how this is going to fall out. How Jacob is going to go clothed
in the raiment of Esau and going to have skins on his neck, on
his hands. He's gonna come before his daddy,
so you know what's gonna happen. And you know that when he came
in, you know that Isaac's gonna bless him, you know that. I want
you to listen to what the Spirit of God says about it. Hebrews
11, 20, by faith. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
concerning things to come. By faith, and we're gonna, we'll
ask ourselves this again. Whenever Jacob came before Isaac,
his daddy, who was he? He was Jacob. Who did his daddy
think he was? Esau. And we'll look at that
passage, Esau, a picture of Christ. But the scripture says by faith.
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Now,
Rebekah, the mama, heard her husband Isaac say something to
their son Esau. Now, you remember what the Lord
said to Rebekah concerning who was going to serve who? Who was
going to be the one that would be the recipient of the blessing?
Who did the Lord say would be the younger? She knows this. And the scripture says now in
Genesis 27, 6 and 7, And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying,
Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat,
and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now who was
Isaac, the daddy? Who was he speaking to? Esau. Who is Esau? The elder. the elder,
the one that traditionally would receive the blessing. So Rebecca
heard her husband, Isaac, say to Esau, you go kill a deer,
make me savory meat. I'm going to eat it. Then I'm
going to bless you before I die. And her, her, her hearing this
is, is, is, is said that we might understand the intent of Isaac. And while the desire of Isaac
was certainly contradictory to the revealed will of the Lord
to Rebekah, I will say that. What Isaac said to Esau about
what he was going to do, it was contradictory to what the Lord
had said to Rebekah. We have no clear scriptural proof
that Isaac knew of the word of the Lord to his wife, Rebecca. We have no scriptural proof of
that. We can speculate. You say, well, surely she told
him. Surely he knew what the Lord
had said. Well, we can't be speculating,
not on God's word. We take the Lord at exactly what
is said, and there's no scriptural proof that what the Lord said
to Rebekah was known to Isaac. We have no proof of that. Now
therefore, we're not warranted to think that Isaac sinned presumptuously. by deliberately resisting the
revealed will of God. We have no warrant for that.
The scripture says, Isaac, by faith, blessed Jacob and Esau. And there we stand. So knowing the Lord's word to
Rebecca, we consider her action Not so much as trying to get
ahead of the Lord, but rather of her words to Jacob, her son,
who the Lord had told her, this is who's going to get the blessing.
What she did, I will say, may have been well-meant intentions
for the accomplishment of the purpose of God. When we consider
these truths, we have to walk in the light that we have. Now, there are passages that
set forth. I want you to turn to Exodus
17. Genesis, Exodus, Exodus 17. There's
passages where the Lord directly reprimanded those that he loved. There's no doubt about that.
I want you to look at Exodus 17. Verse six, the people were
murmuring because there was no water. They were out in the wilderness,
they murmured, there was no water. And here's what the Lord told
Moses to do, Exodus 17, six. He said, behold, I will stand
before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and I shall smite the
rock. and there shall come water out
of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight
of the elders of Israel. Now the Lord told Moses when
the people murmured because there was no water, I want you to go,
and the Lord said, I'm gonna stand on this rock. And you smited. Well, I think, what respect. That rock set forth the person
of Christ being slain. And the Lord told him, he said,
I'm gonna stand on that rock. You smite it, and water's gonna
come out. And it did, it did. But then
turn over to Numbers. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Numbers 20. Numbers 20. When
there was no water again in the desert of Zin, the Lord instructed
Moses, Numbers 20, verse 8 to 13. Take the rod and gather thou
the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak
ye unto the rock. Now listen to what the Lord said
to do. Take thy rod, gather thou the
assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto
the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth his water. Thou shalt bring forth to them
water out of the rock, so thou shalt give the congregation and
their beast drink. And Moses took the rod from before
the Lord as he commanded him, and Moses and Aaron gathered
the congregation together before the rock, And he said unto them,
here now you rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand,
and with his rod he smoked the rock twice. And the water came
out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beast also. And the Lord spake unto Moses
and Aaron, because you believe me not. to sanctify me in the
eyes of the children of Israel. Therefore, you shall not bring
this congregation into the land which I have given them. Now, the Lord told Moses the
first time, strike the rock. Told him the second time, you
speak to the rock. Christ submitted one time, one time. And when
Moses struck that rock the second time, God said, you're not going
in. Saul, scripture set forth, was
rebuked by Samuel for disobedience. David, when he took Bathsheba,
had Bathsheba's husband killed. David was a murderer, he was
an adulterer, and the Spirit of God said that God sent a prophet
to David, Nathan, to say to him, he said, you're the man. You've
given the heathens grounds to blaspheme God. God's put away
your guilt, but God reprimanded him. The Lord before Peter even
denied the Lord three times. The Lord told him, this is what
you're gonna do. The Lord told him he was gonna
do that. But in the case of Isaac and Rebekah, the scriptures are
silent concerning their disobedience. And brethren, where the scriptures
are silent, let us be too. Let us set forth the message
of the passage without any speculation. I read numerous articles and
it was talking about how disobedient, how disrespectful, and how conniving. And I thought, let's take what
God says and stay right there. So the Lord's instruction to
Rebekah was the revelation of his purpose. God told her. Turn to Romans 9. His purpose
that the Spirit of God moved upon the Apostle Paul to pen
again, Romans chapter 9, verses 10 to 16. And not only this,
but when Rebekah 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 was 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. Rebecca knew that the Lord had
made a distinction between her two sons. She knew that. And she knew that He had done
so according to His immutable will. It wasn't going to change.
She knew that. She knew that God's choice was
to show mercy to one and leave the other to Himself. And God's
will and God's purpose was made before the foundation of the
world, before they had done any good or evil, before they were
born. The Lord said, this is the way it's going to be. So
she knew that Jacob's Blessing, the younger son's blessing over
his brother Esau flowed totally from God's eternal will, love,
toward Jacob. And no one, not her, not Isaac,
no one had the right to question the Lord concerning those things.
So let those that question the things of God, question God's
sovereignty, question God's right, hear these words. The Lord said,
John 12, 48, he that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judges him. The word that I've spoken, the
same shall judge him in the last day. So she said, here's what,
back in Genesis 27. So she said, no ain't, she said,
I heard your daddy say this to your brother. And she said in
verse eight, through 10, now therefore my son, obey my voice
according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock and
fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats and I will
make them savory meat for thy father such as he loveth. And
thou shalt bring it to thy father that he may eat and that he may
bless thee before his death. Now in these words, We behold,
not a questioning of God's ability, God's way, but the confidence
and faith that the Lord was going to do what the Lord said he was
going to do. The Lord said, the elder is going
to serve the younger. And she told Jacob, the younger,
go get two kids. Go get these two goats. You bring
it to me, I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna make this meat, this
savory meat, and you're gonna bring it to your daddy. And listen
to what she said in verse 10, latter part of verse 10, that
he may eat and that he may bless thee before his death. She believed God. This is what's
gonna happen. Now, considering what the scriptures
reveal about the events of that day, let's be ever mindful that
what's being said is to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the bringing of God's
sheep unto himself. So Rebecca is instructed Jacob,
the younger, and now listen to his response, verses 11 and 12. And Jacob said to Rebecca, his
mother, behold, Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am a smooth
man. And my father, peradventure,
will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, and I shall
bring a curse upon me and not a blessing. Now Jacob knew that
if he was gonna approach, now his mama just told him, you go
get these two goats, I'm gonna make this savory meat, and I'm
gonna, I'm gonna, you know, prepare this and I want you to bring
it to your daddy that he may bless you before. And he says,
if I'm gonna approach my father and receive the blessing and
be accepted of him, I'm gonna have to approach him in the position
of my brother, Esau. Dad knows that Esau's a hairy
man and I'm a smooth man. And he's gonna know that it's
not me, that I'm not him. And I'm gonna approach him and
I'm gonna be found to be an imposter and bring a curse. I look the
word curse up, vilification, abusive, despairing speech. Dad is going to just lambast
me. when I go in there and tell him,
but obviously what Rebecca did was absolutely found to be under
the permissive will of God, according to the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we never insinuate that the
Lord was the author of sin, but rather we bow to the way that
he sovereignly orders. Those things that he does, he
allow, he worketh all things. And as I was making preparation
for this message, I kept the things that go through my mind.
I'm like you, I can see these things and I can, you know, it's
very easy for our flesh to say, well, it just don't seem like
to me. Brethren, shun those thoughts. he worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. Whenever the Lord instructed
Joshua to send the spies and to spy out the land, and they
came and they came to a woman's house, Rahab the harlot. And And this, and Rahab told
him, she said, we've heard, we know who you are, we know your
God, we've heard about how your God had destroyed the kings of
Sihon and Og, and we know, we know. And she said, I want you
to make a promise to me that when you come in and you take
this land, would you show mercy to me and to my family? And you
know that, you know, they said they would, you put this ribbon
in there, and what she did was she hid these men. Put them in
under, you know, hid them in her house there. And the king
sent some men over to talk to her about it, about these men. It says, scripture says it in
Joshua 2, 4, that she answered them, and these men are hidden
in her house. And she says, well, there came men unto me, but I
wist not whence they were. They were in her house right
there. She had them hidden. That's what the scripture says.
What did God say concerning what Rahab did? The scripture says
in Hebrews 1131, by faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with
them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace. God's ways are not our ways. Well, I think that the way I
think the secret things belong unto the Lord. But those things
that are revealed belong to us and our children forever. We're looking at a passage of
scripture. I started off this message by saying this passage
of scripture cannot be believed or received except that the Spirit
of God give a heart to bow to what the Lord says. The scripture
says in Proverbs 19, 21, there are many devices, there's many
thoughts, there's many plans, there's many inventions in man's
heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord, that shall stand. as many things that men think,
nevertheless. Isaiah 46, nine and 10, remember
the former things of old, for I am God and there's none else. I'm God and there's none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand,
I will do all my pleasure. Rebecca instructed Isaac, you
go to the flock and you fetch two good kids, two goats. And she's gonna kill those two
goats. She's gonna make savory meat for Isaac, such as he loveth,
she said, that he may bless thee before his death. You go get
two goats, love it, Do we not see that which is needful to
be accepted of God? As those two goats had to die,
are we not reminded of the demand of God Almighty set forth the
day of the atonement, the day when these two goats would set
forth God's demand for satisfaction to his justice and also as the
scapegoat that would bear our sins away as far as the East
is from the West. Listen, Jacob's going in to get
the blessing. She said, you go get me two goats. You know, when
I first read that, I thought, wouldn't one do? She said, you
go get two. There was a reason for it. Turn to Leviticus 16.
Leviticus 16. This is on the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 16, seven to 10. About the great high, not the
great, the high priest, Aaron. Verse seven, Leviticus 16 said,
he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron
shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord,
the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat
upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering.
But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall
be presented live before the Lord to make an atonement with
him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. You go get
me two goats. Isaac, the daddy, is a picture of the father, the
one that blessed us. Jacob is a picture of us, the
needy center. Rebecca is a picture, beautiful
picture of the spirit of God directing, ordering, Esau's a
picture of Christ, and we'll see this. And has she said you
go get two goats, that your father may bless you before we die.
So here we see Jacob vividly aware of the difference between
himself and his brother Esau. But brethren, do we not see in
picture and type, we don't see it as we ought to, but we see
through a glass darkly the great difference between our glorious
savior. He is heavenly, he's holy. We're earthy sinners. And here he is, he said, there's
a difference. But that the word of God might
set forth the glory of being accepted of the Lord. She told
him, she said, you go get these, I'm gonna make it. And he says
in that latter verse, of verse 10, I mean 12. I shall seem to him a deceiver. I shall bring a curse upon me.
And she said this. She said, verse 13, his mother
said unto him, upon me be thy curse, my son. Only obey my voice
and go fetch me. You go get those curse. I'll
bear the curse. The curse won't be on you from
your daddy. I'll bear it. I'll bear it. You just go do
exactly what I said. So you obey my voice. Job said,
that's the spirit of what she was saying. Job said this in
Job 13, 15, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. But
I will maintain my own ways before him. God had told her. God had
told her, the elder's gonna serve the younger. She said, I'll bear
the curse. You go get those two kids. You
go get them. Verses 14 to 17, and we'll stop.
And he went and fetched and brought them to his mother. And his mother
made savory meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took
goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her
in the house, and put them upon Jacob, her younger son, And she
put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, upon
the smooth of his neck. And she gave the savory meat
and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son, Jacob. Oh, and these last verses for
this evening. Do we not behold the glorious
detail, the attention for Jacob to receive the blessing He must
be accepted of his father, who knows, who knows his sons. Rebecca took goodly raiment,
that means desirable, pleasant, precious raiment that belonged
to Esau, Esau. That which pictured the precious
raiment of the righteousness, the robe of righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. robed in Him. There's the picture. To be accepted of the Father.
I'm going to be robed in Christ's righteousness. She put that upon
Him, that raiment, and she took the skins and put the skins of
a slain ghost on His hands and on the smooth of His neck. She
demanded the shedding of blood. to meet the demand for acceptance
with Isaac. There's the picture, look at
the picture. Not to cast dispersion and blame and she did this and
she was gonna, look at the picture that's being set forth here.
Look how the Spirit of God set forth this glorious truth to
be accepted of Isaac. Isaac was going to have to be
set forth to be the one accepting the one that he loved. That's
what he loved him. But here Esau is a picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ and all that was needful for Jacob to
approach his father, the goodly Raymond of Esau. The skins of
the goats upon his hands and neck, that savory meat that Isaac
loved was placed into the hands of Jacob. He didn't earn it. We didn't prepare it. Likewise,
our approach unto the Father is only in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We didn't earn it either. We're
robed. We didn't earn the robe, didn't
buy the robe by our free will, our works. We're accepted in
the beloved, only robed in the sweet savor of his obedience,
hidden in him. Oh, may the Spirit of God bless
our hearts to see these things and rejoice in the one in whom
we're accepted for his glory and our eternal good.