Genesis chapter 27. As I said a moment ago, the only
revelation that Almighty God gives for a hell deserving sinner
to be accepted of Almighty God and to be blessed of Almighty
God. is found in this passage of scripture. I was just thinking before I
got up while Gary was leading, was singing. I want to ask, I
ask the Lord's blessing. Kids, listen to me. Those of
you that are young, I've sat just exactly where you're sitting. You know how sometimes you think
that, you know, just the older somebody gets, all of a sudden
they just start maybe understanding some of these things. It's not.
It's not. Listen. Listen to me. I encourage you,
those of you that are young, those that are middle-aged, those
of us that are old, we need to hear what God has to say. We're all going to stand before
God. It's the most serious thing that you'll ever do in your life
is hearing what God has to say. And I pray that the Lord bless
the services today. In this passage of scripture,
and like I said, I'm going to break it down. I'm going to look
at the first five verses. Then I'm going to look at the
next few seconds. These scriptures speak of the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and a sinner's need. Now in this
passage today, five verses, there's three people spoken of. Isaac,
Rebekah, and Esau. Now you know, you know, I'm going
to bring this out, I'm going to show you this in a minute.
This is what God Almighty said concerning Esau and his brother
Jacob. Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. And I've looked the word up, and
this is what it means. Hated. Hated. Jacob have I loved and
Esau have I hated. I'm going to preach a series
of three messages on this subject. Esau, a picture of Christ. Esau, a picture of Christ. And these 27 verses over three
messages. Isaac is Abraham's son. Abraham
had a son, his name was Isaac. Isaac is a picture of the Father. Isaac married a woman named Rebekah. Rebekah is a picture of the Holy
Spirit. They had two boys, Jacob and
Esau. Esau is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now you're going to have to go,
you know, you have to listen to all the messages to get the
fullness of what I'm saying here. Esau is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And Jacob, his twin brother,
is a picture of every elect, chosen, elect vessel of God's
mercy. The Father, the Holy Spirit,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and us, the needy sinners. The scripture
declares in Genesis 27 verse 1, it came to pass that when
Isaac was old, his eyes were dim so that he could not see. He called Esau, his eldest son,
said unto him, my son. And he said unto him, behold,
here am I. And he said, behold now, I'm
old. I know not the day of my death.
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, and
thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison. And
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 Rebecca heard
when Isaac spake to Esau his son, And Esau went to the field
to hunt for venison and to bring it. Now, obviously Isaac, the
daddy, feels as though that he's soon to die. I read some commentaries
and they said that from what they could find out, and I don't
know, I couldn't find the exact age when Isaac died, but they
said based on history, this, that, and the other, it doesn't
matter, they think he was around 135 years old at this point. His eyes were dim and he couldn't
see and he felt as though that he was going to die soon. But
Surely though his eyes physically were dim, his spiritual eyes
were sharp concerning the honor of the promised Messiah. Concerning the honor of the Messiah
that was expressed to the nation of Israel would come. And he
has this heart to bless his firstborn. Now his firstborn is Esau, twin
boys. Esau was born first. So by divine direction and decree,
we know this, that everything that was done in the nation of
Israel concerning the law was to typify the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. All of this has got spiritual
significance. He was going to bless Esau. Why was he going to bless Esau? Esau was going to get everything. Esau would get everything. The inheritance, the honor, the
authority over the family. The Lord had instructed Moses
in Exodus, I'll read this to you, Exodus 13, 2, and it was
concerning the firstborn. He said, sanctify, that means
consecrate or dedicate or separate unto me. sanctify, undermine
all the firstborn. Whatsoever openeth the womb among
the children of Israel, both man and beast, is mine. It's mine. You sanctify, you
set it apart, you dedicate it to me, the firstborn. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit in Colossians 1, 18-19, reveals some revelation concerning why the
firstborn would be set apart for the Lord. That was according
to God's Word. Paul says under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, Colossians 1, he is the head. He is the master. He is supreme. He is the head
of the body, the church. That is all of God's elect throughout
time. He is the head. He is the head
of the body who is the beginning. He's the origin of the church. He's the beginning. He is the
beginning. He is the firstborn from the
dead. That is, the first to rise according
to His own power, according to His right, His merit, He is the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the
preeminence, that He might be first in rank, first in dignity,
first in honor, first in power. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell. That was the significance of
the blessing upon the firstborn. of the honor that is to be given
to the Lord Jesus Christ. And in fact, the Lord Jesus was
said to be in Romans 8, 28. Just hold your place right there.
Romans 8, 28, 29. I'll read this or you can turn
there. Here's what Scripture says. Romans 8, 28, 29. that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are thee 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, whom He did foreknow. God predestinated
that all of God's elect might be conformed to the likeness
of He who is the firstborn. He who is the only begotten. We dealt with this last week
or sometime, a week or so ago. Sometime I dealt with this, the
only begotten, the only eternally generated one. He was the first. He was God's
chosen. And all of God's elect were chosen
in Him. And Almighty God has purposed
that all of His elect might be conformed to the likeness. Is He the Son? Yes. We're sons. Because you are sons. Is He the
Beloved? Yes. We're the beloved in Him. Is He the firstborn? Yes. We'll be born in Him. So here, Isaac is instructing
his firstborn. This was according to God's demand. The firstborn was looked upon
as a picture, as a type of the promised Messiah. And Isaac knew
that. So he calls his son Isaac to
himself, and now he purposes to bestow this blessing upon
him, and not this blessing. Now, understand something. What
is he blessing? What blessing are you bestowing
upon this firstborn? Well, it's two things mainly. It was the blessing of the promised
lineage and descent of the Messiah would come through your loins,
through you. But also it was the promise of
the possession of the land of Canaan, which was a picture and
type of heaven and glory in Christ. This was not just some parental,
you know, a daddy that just said, you know, I pray the Lord bless
you. You know, we say that a lot and we mean it, but what do we
mean? This blessing was a blessing from Almighty God to God's elect. The lineage of the Messiah was
going to come through you. And so he tells Esau, you go
to the field, you take some medicine, you make a savory meat, as I
love, you bring it to me. Now I'm going to make this statement
right here. In the next message or two, I'm
going to say something else about this, but even reading what Isaac
told Esau to do, so that you'll get the blessing, that's what
he said. You go to the field, you take some venison, you make
a savory meat, you bring it to me, you, you, you. And Almighty God was not going
to accept this blessing right here, I can tell you that. even
the insinuation of it that Esau was instructed to do. You do
it all. You bring it to me and I'll bless you. And he wasn't
going to get the blessing. So now we know that Isaac, he's
speaking to Esau, firstborn. And Esau's mother, she hears
what Isaac, her husband, is saying. That's what the 5th verse says.
Rebekah 5 heard when Isaac spoke to Esau. She heard what he said. And something now comes back
to her mind. Something that Almighty God told
her years and years and years ago. What did He tell her? Well,
hold your place there. Turn back page 2 to Genesis 25. Genesis 25. I have written down Genesis 25 here and I'm I'm sorry, I am in the right
chapter, I just looked at the wrong verse. I want you to look
at verse 20. Genesis 25, verse 20. Here's what happened that
caused Rebecca, when she heard what Isaac, her husband, said,
this came back to her mind. Genesis 25, verse 20. And Isaac
was 40 years old when he took Rebecca to wife, the daughter
of Bethuel, the Syrian, of Padanar. the sister of 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, and she
said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the
Lord, and the Lord said unto her, Now you listen to this. God Almighty said something to
Rebekah. She's got these two boys, and
when it was When it says the children struggled, now you ladies
that have born children, you know what it's like when a child
kicks or they move. You feel it. Hey, he just moved. This word struggle, there was
a battle that was going on. I mean it was a vicious battle. That word right there is not
just a little elbow or a little movement. There was a battle
that was going on. And the children struggled together
within her. And she said, if it be so, why
am I thus? And she went to inquire of the
Lord. This thing was such a battle
going on. I've got to hear what God has
to say about this. And the Lord said unto her, two
nations are in thy womb. 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."
Two nations, two types, two people. You got two different kind. What
are they? What are the two different kind?
One of them is God's elect, and the other a reprobate. What does
that mean? What does it mean when I say
a reprobate? to their own depraved mind and
heart, left alone. That's what I mean when I say
reprobate God leaves them to themselves. That's what it means.
There's two different kinds. These two boys represent one
or the other of every man, every woman born into this world. Rebecca
was barren. Her husband Isaac prayed for
the Lord's blessing and asked God to bless her and prayed that
the Lord give him children. And the Lord who providentially
moved upon Isaac to ask that, blessed him and gave her children. But as these children grew, she
noticed this battle. There's a fight that's going
on. Before she conceived, she was at ease. It was just before
spiritual conception. There's no struggle. There's
no war going on. All is peaceful. You know, that
old man, He's at peace with himself. He's proud of himself. There's
no battle going on. Oh, but when Almighty God gives
a man, gives a woman a new nature. Here's what Galatians 5.17, for
the flesh, that is our corrupted nature from the fall in Adam,
our flesh, lusteth against the Spirit, wants to dominate. That's
what it means. Lust is against it, and the spirit
against the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other.
So that ye cannot do the things that you would. Listen, you that
believe. You cannot do the things that you would. What does that
mean? Well the old man cannot do all
the evil that it desires. because of restraining grace
of God, that new man that is within. And the new man who desires
to do good can't see his desire fulfilled because of the nature
of sin that's within. That's what Paul said. In my
flesh there dwelleth no good thing. To will is present with
me. Is there a believer in here that does not desire to walk
perfectly before God? To think perfect thoughts? To
pray perfectly. I would just desire to be able
to pray one time and have my mind not run off somewhere else.
And me spend time asking the Lord's forgiveness. But I can't
do it. I cannot not sin. And that's
no excuse. That's no excuse. Where there's no grace, there's
a deceiving quietness. But there was a battle that was
going on in Rebecca. And she says, if it be so, why
am I thus? She meant one of two things.
If it be that others that are with child don't go through what
I'm going through, why am I going through this? What is going on
in me? This is not normal. I mean, this
battle that's going on is just out of the ordinary. And if the
Lord has blessed me with a child, why is this battle going on if
this is God's blessing? My husband and I have been praying.
So she went to inquire of the Lord. This is how she did it.
I'll just read 1 Samuel 9. Before time in Israel, when a
man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, let us go to
the seer. For he that is now called a prophet
was before time called a seer. So she went to God's prophet.
It doesn't say where. It could have been her husband.
It could have been Isaac. I don't know. But she went to
inquire of the Lord through the one that God had ordained would
speak on his behalf. That's just right now. When God's
pleased to speak to his people, how does he speak? He's going
to speak through a preacher. A preacher. I've heard people,
I had a man tell me years ago, this was a guy that was at an
assembly that I had just gone to to consider being pastor. And he said, he said, really,
we don't really need a preacher. He said, we can meet around and
meet and talk. I beg your pardon. Anyone that
says that there is no need of a pastor, is gravely deceived,
gravely deceived. We can just meet together and
I can meet, I'm telling you, please the Lord through the foolishness
of preaching, I will give you pastors after my heart. It is absolutely needful. She
went to the only place that God would bless, God the man of God's
raising. So he revealed to her. She asked
him, why is this going on? And he told her. The Lord told
her. He said, there's two nations
in your womb. Two manner of people. It's going
to be separated from their bios. One's going to be stronger, and
the elder's going to serve the younger. He said, there's two
types. And in Rebecca's case, He revealed,
he said, now the elder, the one that always gets the blessing,
the one that's always sanctified, set apart, he's going to be subservient
to the younger. That's completely out of order. That was completely contrary
to what they thought was the right thing to do. He told her
that it was the Lord's pleasure to bless the younger one, over
the older. Now I don't know how much Rebecca
had or how much light she had on what the Lord said when he
said the elder shall serve the younger. But thanks be unto God
that the Spirit of God revealed to us exactly. I have a feeling,
I'm just saying, I have a feeling that she knew, she knew what
God was saying. I'm wrapping this up, this first
one, but I want you to turn to Romans 9. Again, Romans 9. Romans 9, verse 6 to 16. Now
listen. This is what Almighty God told
this woman. She said, why is this going on
in me? Why am I struggling? Why is this battle going on? Romans 9, verse 6. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are
of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted 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 Rebekah
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. Now here
we are now, you're getting ready, the Spirit of God is getting
ready to explain something to us concerning what God told Rebekah. Here's what he said, verse 11,
for the children, being not yet born. Now here's a battle going
on in her womb. And she doesn't know what's going
on here. She doesn't know why there's fighting going on. Why
are these kids fighting? This is not normal. For the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, they weren't
born yet. They weren't born yet. That the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, But
of him that calleth, because of that, because of that, verse
12, it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. When Almighty God spoke with
her inquiring, why am I thus? And the Lord said, the elder
shall serve the younger. Here's what the Lord said to
her. I'm going to have mercy and compassion
on whomsoever I will. It is not of him that willeth.
It's not according to man's will. It's not according to him that
runneth. That is that salvation is attained by the works, the
activities, or the efforts of the flesh, but of God that showeth
mercy. But of Almighty God's pleasure
to show mercy. Why am I struggling like I am? Because I'm going to have mercy
on whom I will. There's two people in you, Rebecca.
Now with that hearing concerning what her husband said to Esau,
She heard what he said. She heard her husband say, Esau,
you my firstborn, you that I love, I want you to go out there and
kill a deer, make a savory meat that I love, and you come back
and I'm going to bless you. The Messiah is going to come
through you. The possession of the promised land, the picture
of the glory of heaven and glory with Christ is going to come
through you. It's going to come through you Esau. And Rebecca
heard him. And she remembered what the Lord
said to her and now there's a battle going on in her. Here's a struggle. Now let me
tell you in closing what a struggle she's got right now. Number one, her husband has said to Esau,
you go do this, you bring it back to me, and I'm going to
bless you. Now, number one, she remembered
what God said to her. She heard what her husband said,
and she heard what God said to her. Now we've got two conflicting
problems here. Two conflict statements here.
This is what her husband said and this is what God said. Now
whose word do you think is going to stand? But on the other hand,
she remembered also the word of Almighty God to Eve in the
fall. Listen to what God said to the
woman, of which she's a woman. Genesis 3.16, I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow. Thy shall bring forth
children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband. What does
that mean? You will be subject to your husband,
and he shall rule over thee. She's between a rock and a hard
place, Carl. At this point, what is the right thing to do? The right thing to do is wait
on the Lord. Trust Him who is able to do exceeding,
abundantly, above all that we ask or think. Wait on Him who
rules in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and may the Lord teach us to do so. Now that's where
we're going to stop for right now. Lord willing, in a few minutes,
I'm going to pick up in the next verse. And we're going to find
out what happened. And I pray that God bless our
heart and prepare our hearts to hear what God has to say concerning
the blessing being received from the Lord to a sinner. Amen.