Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. I'd like to read one verse of
Scripture, verse 20. Hebrews 11.20. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
concerning things to come. Our Father, this evening we pray,
Lord, would you bless this service. May our hearts be fixed upon
Christ, and may the things of this world grow dim. May we see him. May he be honored. Lord, help us to worship. For
Christ's sake. Amen. The Lord had promised Abraham
a son. And this son was going to come
from the womb of his wife, Sarah. And according to the word of
God, Sarah who was past the age and time of women, Abraham who
was just a hundred years old, the Lord did exactly what he
said he was going to do. And the scripture says that Sarah
conceived and bear Abraham a son in his old age at the set time
of which God had spoken to him. God had promised Abraham that
in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That seed being the Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, the Lord tried Abraham
after Abraham's son Isaac was born, and he said unto him, Take
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee
into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering
unto one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Abraham believed God, and he
took Isaac with some of the young men. They came to the place that
the Lord revealed to Abraham to be the place where he was
to offer up Isaac. And so they got to the place
and Abraham said, "'Abide ye here with the ass, and I and
the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you.'" In Hebrews
11, verse 19, we read last week, Abraham believed, he was convinced
that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. He didn't
doubt the Lord's Word. Well, the Lord delivered Isaac
from the altar on which Abraham had placed him. And the Scripture
says he provided a ram that was caught in the thicket. And there
we see a beautiful, glorious picture of substitution. And the last verse of Scripture
that we looked at last week, verse 19, accounting that God
was able to raise him up. even from the dead, from whence
also he received him in a figure. What that received him in a figure
actually means is he received Isaac as a picture, as a type
of all who will be raised from the dead to life in Christ. He saw in that raising up of
that boy off that altar, Life. Victory. Well, in time, Abraham
sent a servant to go and find out, search out a wife for Isaac. And according to the Lord's good
providence, this servant crossed paths with Rebekah, and he had
been given instruction He said, this is the way you'll know,
the one that the Lord has for Isaac. You know, when you go
to feed your camels, and she'll say, let me draw the water, and
I'll get water for you, and I'll water your camels too. And Rebecca
did that. And so the servant went, they
talked to her parents, and Rebecca went back with the servant. to meet Isaac. And the Scripture
says in Genesis 24-67 concerning Isaac, he loved her. And Isaac
was comforted after his mother's death. Well, Isaac was 40 years
old when he married Rebekah. And because Rebekah was barren,
the Scripture says in Genesis 25-21, Isaac entreated the Lord. for his wife. And Rebekah, his
wife, conceived. Now, I want you to turn with
me to Genesis 25. I'm going to read verses 22-28. And we're going to read a few
Scriptures tonight, but that's good. Genesis 25. Here's what
happened. Rebekah was barren, and Isaac
prayed and asked the Lord. for His blessings, it might be
pleased that she might conceive." And she did conceive. Genesis 25, 22-28. Here's what happened while she
was bearing these children. 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, two nations are in thy womb. And two manner of people shall
be separated from thy boughs, 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, and the first came out red all over like
a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. And after that
came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel,
and his name was called Jacob. And Esau was three or four years
old when she buried him. And the boys grew. And Esau was
a cunning hunter, man of the field. And Jacob was a plain
man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he did
eat of his venison. But Rebekah loved Jacob. Now before we go any farther,
I want you to consider something. concerning this passage that
we looked at by faith. These two boys, Jacob and Esau,
were blessed by their father Isaac. Now here's Isaac, here's
Rebecca, and they've got these two boys now. And here's the
first thing that I know concerning these two boys right here, but
salvation in general. This is what I know. Salvation
is all according to God's sovereign grace. Romans 9, verses 10 to
16. Romans 9, 10 to 16. Talking about these boys now
that Rebecca just had. Romans 9, the Lord spoke to Rebecca
while she was pregnant. And he said, this is what's going
on inside you. You've got two nations in there.
Two kinds of people. The elder is going to serve the
younger. Now here's what God has to say about these two boys
that she had. Romans 9 verse 10, 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. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, I'll have compassion on
whom I'll have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth or of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Two boys conceived from the same
father and mother. Now the great distinction that's
made between these two brothers can be traced only to the sovereign
will of Almighty God. That's what Romans 9 says. These
boys be not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,
but that the purpose of God according to election might stand, it was
said. God Almighty made choice before
these children were ever born, before they were ever brought
into this world. And God's choice was made according
to God's purpose. And this, the sovereign will
of God, is the only source of mercy. Titus 1.9, Who hath saved
us? and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began." Esau was older by just a few moments. But he, though according to the
flesh, natural custom, had the right, had the priority over
Jacob. But God chose the younger to
receive His mercy and to partake of His grace. 1 Corinthians 1,
verse 27-29. The Scripture says, God has chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
that are mighty, and the base things of the world, and things
which are despised have God chosen. Yea, and things which are not,
to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory
in His presence. God Almighty chooses whomsoever
He will. Salvation is of the Lord. She had two boys. And this is
what God said about them. One of them I love. The other
one I hate. All souls are mine. God does
as He will. Rebecca didn't do anything. She had two boys. God made the
choice. Here's the second thing I know
concerning these two boys. The purpose of God is surely
going to stand. The birthright actually was the
blessing. The birthright, by nature, by
custom, always went to the first one. The birthright belonged
to Him. And the blessing went to Him. I'm going to tell you something
about that blessing in just a minute. But the birthright, the birthright
was always to belong to the oldest. He got it all. He got it all. And this birthright was given
to the one, the first one, and that blessing was going to be
passed on from generation to generation during the Old Testament
times. And what it did was it represented
all of the blessings of God's grace in Christ. God Almighty would have these
patriarchs, and they'd pass that birthright on down, birthright,
birthright. And Isaac, the daddy, he wanted Esau to have the birthright. He was the firstborn. But Isaac's
will and purpose was not God's will and purpose. God loved and chose Jacob. And he was pleased to pass by
Esau. And the Lord purposed that Jacob
was going to have the birthright. Because whoever has the birthright
gets the blessing. Whoever has the birthright. Well,
turn to Genesis 25. Here's what happened. Now, the youngest traditionally
doesn't have the birthright and he's not going to get the blessing. Genesis 25-29. And Jacob sawed pottage, and
Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to
Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for
I am faint, and therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob
said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at
the point to die. And what profit shall this birthright
do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this
day. And he swore unto him, and he
sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and
pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink, and rose up and
went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. He saw who was the oldest, who
had the birthright. He was to get the blessing traditionally. But he comes in one day from
the field. He was hungry. Jacob said to
him, he said, I'll give you something to eat. But you sell me your
birthright." And Esau said, what difference does it make to me?
I'm so hungry, I'm about to die anyway. Yeah, you can have it. He said, you swear to me that
I can have it. He said, I swear to you. And he despised his part
in the blessing of Almighty God, which traditionally would have
been the lintage through which the Messiah was going to come.
That blessing was more than just a dad's hope, well, I hope the
Lord blesses you and stuff. No, no, no. That blessing carried
with it the promise of God, the blessing of God, and through
which the Messiah was going to come. And God said, That blessing
is going to go to Jacob. He's the youngest. I'm the father
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. He had to have the birthright
to get the blessing. Sell me your birthright. Fine,
you can have it. Now I'll tell you, without a
doubt, Jacob was doing exactly what the Lord It purposed. And there's another
message, complete message right here, I'll just mention. I'll
mention it. And Lord willing, one day I'll
preach on it. But what Rebecca did in telling her son, Jacob,
to fool their daddy, what they did was untruthful. But Almighty God overruled. Instead of waiting on God, Jacob
got the blessing. But he went the rest of his life
in misery, trials, tribulations. He reaped what he sowed. Now there's another message there. But Almighty God had purposed
that this boy was going to have the birthright and the blessing.
And he sold that birthright for a bowl of soup. He gave away. He said, I don't care. I don't
care about the blessing of God. It doesn't matter to me. Men
can say, well, what a foolish thing to do that he would sell
his birthright, he'd sell his share, he would sell the blessing
of God for that? It happens all the time. It happens
all the time. Men will say, I'll take this
over God's blessing. Almighty God had purposed, Jacob
is going to have the blessing. And Esau was doing exactly what
he wanted to do. He despised the blessing of God's
grace for the husk of this world. From that birthright, the honor,
the authority of the family next to the parents was found. But
especially in that birthright was the promise of the Messiah
and the inheritance of the land of Canaan, which was a picture
of heaven itself. I mean, that birthright pictured
intimacy with Christ Himself. Oneness with Christ. Canaan. Presence of God. And Esau said,
I don't care about that. That doesn't mean anything to
me. Both men, Jacob and Esau, they got exactly what they wanted,
all the while accomplishing the will of Almighty God. And it
was sealed before God as Esau swore to give it up. Are you
going to give this to me? Yes, I will. I swear I will. I don't want it. I don't need
it. I don't desire it. Hebrews 12,
I'll read this to you. Hebrews 12, 15-17 says this,
Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God,
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many
be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator
or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright. For you know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected,
for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears." We're going to read about this in just a minute.
What happened is, when he says he found no place of repentance,
that is in Isaac. When he realized he had lost
the blessing, oh, he started crying and weeping and wailing
and everything, and he was seeking repentance in Isaac. He was wanting
Isaac to change his mind. Can't you? No. No. One morsel. Just a bowl of soup. Sold it for nothing. Nothing. Here's the third thing. True
believers bow to God's will. Rebecca knew the will of the
Lord was to bless Jacob and to leave Esau to himself. God told
her. He told her, he said, the elder is going to serve the younger.
She knew what was going on. The Lord had told her that back
in Genesis 25, and when Isaac knew that it was time because
of his failing health, he was determined to bless Esau. Now I want you to turn back to
Genesis 27. Genesis 27. Verse 1, he came to fast that
when Isaac was old, his eyes were dim, so that he could not
see. He called Esau, his eldest son,
and said unto him, My son. He said unto him, Behold, here
am I. And he said, Behold, now I am
old. I know not the day of my death. Therefore take, I pray
thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, thy bow, go into the field, and
take me some venison. Make me savory meat such as I
love. Bring it to me that I may eat, and my soul may bless thee
before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac
spake to Esau his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt for
venison. Bring it. 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. Therefore,
my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
Go now to the flock and fence two good kids of the goats. I
will make them savory meat for thy father such as he loveth.
Thou shalt bring it to thy father that he may eat, that he may
bless thee before his death.' And Jacob said to Rebekah his
mother, Behold, thee saw my brother as a hairy man, and I am a smooth
man. My Father, peradventure, will fill me, and I seem to him
as a deceiver, and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing.
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son,
only obey my voice. Go fetch them." And he went and
fetched and brought them to his mother. 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 and upon the smooth of
his neck. She gave the savory meat and bread which she had
prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. He came unto his father
and said, My father. And he said, Here am I. Who art
thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father,
I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou
badest me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that
thy soul may bless me.' And Isaac said unto his son, How is it
that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because
the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob,
Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether
thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto his
Unto Isaac his father, and he felt him. And he said, The voice
is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he
discerned him not, because his hands were hairy as his brother
Esau's hands. So he blessed him. And he said,
Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said,
Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that
my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him.
And he did eat, and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his
father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and he kissed
him, and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him,
and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of the field
which the Lord hath blessed. Therefore God give thee of the
dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and the plenty
of corn and wine. And let people serve Thee, and
nations bow down to Thee. Be Lord over Thy brethren, and
let Thy Mother's Son bow down to Thee. Cursed be every one
that curseth Thee, and blessed be he that blesseth Thee." And
before I read the next few verses, that blessing that he just gave
him, you think of that blessing. That's the blessing of Christ.
Nations bow down to Him. Cursed is everyone that curses
Him. Blessed is everyone that blesses Him. This is heaven's
blessing right there. That's what He got. And it came
to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob,
and Jacob was yet scarce, gone out of the presence of Isaac,
his father that he saw, his brother came in from his hunting. And
he also had made savory meat, and brought it unto his father,
and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his
son's venison, that thy soul may bless thee. And Isaac his
father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son,
thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly,
and said, Who? Where is he that hath taken venison,
and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest,
and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words
of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter
cry and said to his father, Bless me, even me also, my father. And he said, Thy brother came
with subtlety and hath taken away the blessing. And he said,
Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these
two times. He took away my birthright, and
behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast
thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and
said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy Lord, and all his
brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and
wine have I sustained him. What shall I do now unto thee,
my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing,
my father? Bless me, even me also, O my
father. And Esau lifted up his voice
and wept. And Isaac his father answered
and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness
of the earth, and the dew of the heaven from above. And by
thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. And
it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, thou
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." Now, Isaac did bless
his two sons. to the will of Almighty God. Jacob was promised both spiritual
and temporal blessings. Esau got temporal blessings only. The seed, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Savior of the world, the Savior of God's elect, He was
promised to come through. Jacob. God purposed it. Esau was blessed, but he had
only that which this world offered. But when Isaac realized that
he had blessed Jacob, and I want you to turn back in closing to
our text, Hebrews 11, verse 20. of all the things that could
be listed concerning Isaac. This is the point right here.
This is the one point in this 11th chapter that the Spirit
of God is pleased to record concerning the faith of Isaac when he blessed
Jacob and Esau. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob
and Esau concerning things to come. It came down to this. Isaac loved Esau. Scripture says, because of his
venison. Rebecca loved Jacob. God loved
Jacob. God had purposed that Jacob was
going to have the birthright and the blessing. Did everything in the world he
could. He was going to bless Esau. Isaac was going to bless
Esau. You go out there, you kill a
deer, make me a savory meat, bring it here, we'll eat together,
we'll laugh together, talk together, fellowship together, and I'm
going to bless you. I'm going to bless you. I'm going to bless
you. Jacob comes in. He said, I'm Esau. I'm Esau. Isaac said, come over
here, let me touch you. He said, you sound like Jacob,
but you feel like Esau. Are you really Esau? Are you
Esau? Yes, I am. Isaac, in his heart, he's going
to bless Esau. I'm going to bless Esau. I'm
going to bless Esau. And he gave that blessing to
Jacob. And when Almighty God revealed
to Isaac that he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau because
that was God's will, this is what Isaac said, I've blessed
him and he's going to be blessed. He bowed to God's will. He bowed to God's good purpose. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob
and Esau. God's people are saved by the
grace of God. God's purpose is going to stand. And when God's people realize
that their desires, their thoughts, their will, is contrary to God's
will, God's purpose. You know what they're going to
do? They're going to bow. Lord, not my will, but Thine
be done. Lord, Thy will be done. Thy will
be done. They will not, a believer will
not fly in the face of God Almighty when God makes known His will. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart, for Christ's sake.