My subject tonight is Isaac's
remarkable faith. Were I searching for an example
of faith, a single act of faith, something that I wanted to hold
before you to give instruction, comfort, and encouragement in
the matter of faith, I'm certain that I would never have thought
It would never have crossed my mind to choose the example that's
given to us in our text this evening. It would never have
crossed my mind. For that reason, when I began
to prepare this message, I was immediately confronted with some
challenges. Read the text with me and you'll see what I mean.
Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 20. By faith, Isaac Now, that's no problem. That
part's easy. And Esau. You see it? By faith, Isaac blessed
Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Now, this text refers
us to Genesis chapter You turn there if you will, we'll look
at several verses in that chapter. You'll recall that Isaac and
Rebekah had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau was the older
boy, the firstborn, and he was exactly the kind of son every
man wants. I mean, he was a man's boy. He was an outdoorsman. He was
a hunter. Judging by the description given
in scripture, He probably wasn't much to look at, but he was 100%
boy. He spent his time in the fields.
He was a hairy man, a strong man, a great hunter. He and Isaac
apparently were real buddies, spent a lot of time together.
Isaac was his daddy's boy. He was his daddy's boy. I'm sorry,
Jesau was his daddy's boy. He appears always to have at
least tried to honor his father. What his father wanted, what
he wanted to do. And then there was Jacob. Jacob was a different fella.
He was apparently a bit of a sissy. Mama's boy. The kind of boy every
daddy would kind of keep away from before proceeding. Every
daddy tried his best to try to get him to be something else. delicate, probably a little pretty,
always hanging around his mama's apron. Jacob was as conniving and scheming
as Esau was plain and forthright. He was as weak as Esau was strong. And when it came time for Isaac
to die, he was anxious to give the blessing of God to his beloved
son Esau, to whom the birthright rightly belonged by nature and
rightly belonged according to the commandment God gave in the
law. He was the firstborn. Now understand, the blessing
of the patriarchs in the patriarchal age was not just Isaac gathering
his son Esau saying, now son, this is what I want for you.
It was not just him gathering his son and saying to his son,
now this is my will and this is my inheritance and this is
what I'm giving to you. That wasn't it at all. The blessing
of the firstborn was a covenant blessing. A covenant blessing
through whom in God's purpose, according to God's revelation,
the promise of God from all the way back in Genesis 3.15 concerning
the coming of the promised seed. The promise of God to Abraham,
the promise of God and his covenant, the promise of redemption and
grace and salvation, the promise of Christ was in that blessing. That's what that blessing represented.
And Jacob, or rather Isaac, wanted to bless his son Esau with his
birthright. Jacob sure wanted what Esau had. But Isaac wanted Esau to get
it. Who better to represent him and carry on his family name
than Esau? Who better to represent the church
and kingdom of God than Esau? Who better to stand for God and
his truth than Esau, this mighty, mighty man? So he sent Esau out
to the field. He said, son, now remember, Isaac's
an old man and he's blind. He said, son, you go out and
kill me a deer. And you know what kind of stew
I like. You fix me that good stew we fix when we're out hunting
in the fields. And bring it to me, because it's
time for me to die. And we'll eat our stew together,
and we'll sit down, and we'll talk about old times. We'll have
a good time of reminiscence before I leave here, and I'm going to
bless you. Time's come. But there was a problem, just
one little problem. Isaac's will wasn't God's will.
Isaac's purpose wasn't God's purpose. Isaac's intention wasn't
God's intention. Isaac's desire wasn't God's desire. Isaac's plans were not God's
plans. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. God chose Jacob and passed by
Esau. God ordained that Jacob be the
one through whom the covenant would be established, through
whom Christ would come into the world, through whom he would
accomplish his purpose of grace, through whom ultimately he would
bring salvation to you and me and to all his elect. Esau had
long, long before this made a decision. These days people always talk
about a man's And they talk about the importance of a man's decision.
Let me tell you the importance of a decision. You make the wrong
one, you may have to live with it. You may just have to live
with it. You determine for yourself you're
going to have your way. God just might give you your
way. Esau, on one occasion, went through a trial. Boy, it's amazing
what men look at as problems. Esau had a trial. It was so tough. Oh, it was a hard, hard ordeal. I can't imagine any man going
through what he went through. He had been out in the fields
one day while Jacob hung around the kitchen as normal. And Esau
was tired and hungry, and Jacob had fixed a mess of stew. He
had fixed a pot of lentils and some homemade bread for Mama's
boys. And he was sitting outside when
he saw Cain in and he saw he was hungry. And he said, he said,
Jacob, brother, give me some beans and a piece of that bread.
And Jacob, being the cunning fellow he was in all his deviousness,
seized the opportunity. He said, I'll tell you what I'll
do. I'll give you all the beans and all the bread you want right
now if you'll send me your birthright. And Esau just couldn't stand
it. He just couldn't. He was hungry. He was hungry. Should anybody understand this? He was hungry. Just for a little while. But
at that time, he wanted something to eat. And he preferred gratifying
his flesh for just a minute. For just a minute. You understand
what I'm telling you? I'm not talking about some hard
trial. I'm not talking about some ordeal. I'm not talking
about something that, oh, how could a man choose what to do? All he had to do was wait for
supper. And it gave him something else
to eat. But just for a moment of pleasure to fulfill the lust
of his flesh, he said, I hate Christ. I want my baby. And that's
what the decision was all about. Read it with me, Genesis 25,
verse 27. The boys grew, and Esau was a
cunning hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was a plain
man dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because
he did eat of his venison. But Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sawed pottage, and
Esau came from the field, and he was faint, tired. And Esau
said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage,
for I'm faint, therefore his name is called Edom. And Jacob
said, sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, behold, I'm At
the point to die. Isn't that amazing? Oh, Jacob, I got to have it.
I'm going to die if I don't get it. I'm at the point to die. And what profit shall this birthright
do to me? It's a useless thing. It's a
useless thing. Christ is useless. God's promise
is useless. God's grace is useless. God's
salvation is useless. What a word. If you think I'm reading something
into that, you read what the scriptures say about this birthright.
It's a useless thing. Verse 33, Jacob said, swear to
me this day. And he said, all right, I swear
to you. And he's swearing to him and
sold his birthright to 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 the Son of
God. He despised his birthright. Now,
when Isaac was dying and wanted to bless Esau, Rebekah overheard
the conversation between the two of them, and she came up
with a plan of her own. A plan by which to deceive her
husband and secure God's blessing for her favorite son. What about that letter? She had
Jacob to go out in the fields and take one of the kids of the
goats. And she said, you kill it and bring me the meat and
I'll fix the kind of stew your daddy wants. And she fixed the stew and she
said, now you take this and go to your father and you pretend
to be Esau. Jacob knew better than that.
He said, Esau's a man, I'm just a sissy. He said, Esau's got
hair all over him. I'm just as soft skinned as I
may. My father perceived this and
he was terrified. She said, leave it to me. She
said, you go get some of Esau's clothes. They smell like him.
And you put the skin Everywhere your skin's exposed, you put
that goat skin on you. And when your father smells you,
he'll smell Esau. And when he feels you, he'll
feel Esau, and he'll bless you. Now, Jacob said, all right, we'll
do it. Because Jacob wanted that birthright.
He wanted that birthright. He was determined to have that
birthright, regardless of what it cost. I don't pretend to imagine
that Jacob even understood the full ramifications of what was
involved in this. But Jacob was determined to have
the birthright, and he was willing to hazard everything to get it. Rebecca was determined that Jacob
should have it. God had promised it. She acts
in unbelief, presuming yes. She should have waited for God
to accomplish his purpose, yes. But she was determined to have
what God promised he would give her son while he was yet in her
womb. God spoke plainly. And she said,
we're going to get the birthright. Isaac is not going to have his
way. I am going to see to it that God's purpose is accomplished.
And so Jacob goes in to Isaac. And he was suspicious, the old
man was. But he said, come here. Come
here. He said, the voice sounded like
Jacob, but you sure smell like Esau. Feel like Esau. And he blessed him. Now, before
I move on in the story, let me pause a minute. I can't resist
temptation. This is a beautiful picture of
the gospel. Jacob here shows us how it is
that you and I receive God's blessing. It can't be done except
a sacrifice be made. A lamb got to be killed. God
will not grant his blessing except through the blood of his darling
son. We must bring the holy Lord God that savoury meat which is
his delight. Go bring me the savoury meat
that I delight in, that which pleases me well. And that savoury
meat is Jesus Christ himself. We must come to the Holy Lord
God in the clothes and skins of his darling Son, wearing the
garments of his salvation, We must come before God in the merit
and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen to me. Coming to God in Christ. He's
absolutely blind to us. He doesn't see us. He sees his
son. He sees us in his son, accepts
us for his son's sake and blesses us for the sake of his son. Let's look at this picture of
Jacob's remarkable faith. The Holy Spirit specifically
declares that in an act of faith, Jacob blessed both his sons. I'm sorry, Isaac. If I'm messing
up all night, just know who I'm talking about. Isaac blessed
his sons concerning things to come. The text said, by faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Now
let's look at the blessings. Genesis 27, verse 15. Jacob came in and deceived his
father. 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. And she gave the savory meat
and bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
And he came unto his father and said, My father. And he said,
Here am I. Who art thou, my son? And Jacob
said to his father, I missaw your firstborn. I have done according
as thou badest me. Arise, I pray thee, sit in need
of my venison, that thy soul may bless me." Verse
20, 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
Isaac his father, and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's
voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And it discerned
him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's
hands. So he blessed him. And here's
the blessing. He said, Art thou my very son
Esau? He said, I am. And he said, Bring
it near 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 to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his
raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son
is the smell of the field which the Lord hath blessed. Therefore
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and nations
bow down to thee. Be Lord over thy brethren, and
let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one
that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. And then Esau came in, verse
30. And it came to pass, as soon
as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce
gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his
brother came in from his hunting And he also made savory meat
and brought it unto his father, and said to his father, Let my
father arise, and eat his son's venison, that thy soul may bless
me. And Isaac his father said unto
him, Who are you? Who are you? 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."
If the deed's done, I've blessed him. I can't turn it back. I
won't turn it back. He shall be blessed. And when
he saw, heard the words of his father, he cried with a great
and exceeding bitter cry and said unto his father, now bless
me, even me also, O my father. He begins to act like the sister.
He starts to whine and cry. And he said, thy brother came
with subtlety and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said,
is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these
two times. He took away my birthright, and
behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. Wait a minute now,
Esau. You gave it to him. You gave it to him. You swapped
it for a mess of beans. 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. And 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 this great man, Esau, lifted
up his voice and wept. And Isaac, his father, answered
and said unto him, Now remember, the text says, by faith Isaac,
when he was dying, blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to
come. Here's the blessing. Behold,
thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth. that I gave to
Jacob. You're going to live there, but
I gave it to him. And of the deal of heaven above that I gave
to Jacob. You're going to have some ranges
like him, but I gave it to him. And by thy sword shalt thou live,
and shalt serve thy brother. And it shall come to pass when
thou shalt have dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from
off thy neck. You're going to cast off the
yoke of God. You're going to cast off the
purpose of God. You're going to cast off the
blessing of God again. And Esau hated Jacob because
of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau
said in his heart, the days of mourning for my father are at
hand, and then I'll kill him. I will slay my brother. Let me give you some things I've
gleaned from the scriptures studying this passage of scripture. I'm
just going to make seven or eight statements. I certainly won't
expand the text or the subject. I'll come back to it at least
two or three more times. But I want you to see some things.
Number one, God Almighty has mercy on whom he will have mercy. And he's not going to change
his purpose. Not for you, not for me, not for anybody. Let
men rant and rave and hoot and holler all they want to. Salvation
is of the Lord. God gives his grace to whom he
will and withholds it where he will. God sends his mercy where
he will and he refuses to send it where he will. The scriptures
tell us that God said this to Rebecca. 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 to her, The elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. If you want to, you can do everything
you can to explain that away and fix it so some unbelieving
rebel who hates God will say, well, that makes good sense,
now I like it. Or you can read it just like
it says, and let me either bow to it or fight God. One of the
two. I believe I'll leave it just like it says, let me either
bow to it or fight God. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. What shall we say then? Oh, but
that's not right. How many times have you heard
that? That can't be right. Who are
you to challenge God? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. For he says to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not salvation and
grace is not in any measure or at any point of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. God's
ways are not our ways. God's thoughts are not our thoughts.
God's choices are not our choices. Isaac chose Esau. God chose Jacob. You remember when David was anointed
as king? God sent Samuel down to the house
of Jesse and he said, you got some sons here? He said, yeah,
I got a whole house full of them. He said, go fetch them. God's
chosen one of your boys to be king in Israel. And he went and
got them. Started at the oldest and the
biggest and the tallest and the strongest, most handsome. My boy's gonna be king. And he
fetched them. And Samuel said, that's not him.
And he went through every one of them. Except one. One scrawny
little old fella who was out tending the sheep whom nobody
ever imagined might be the object of God's grace. Samuel said,
don't you have any other sons? He said, well, I've got one,
but he ain't nothing. He sat back there and said, fetch
it. And when David walked in, God said, arise, anoint him,
this is he. This is he. So learn this second
thing. God's choice, God's elect, are
almost always those whom we would never suspect being his chosen. Almost always. Find me an example in this book,
Old Testament or New. Find me one example, just one,
of any time when God Almighty chose to save, bless, and use
anyone you would have chosen. Find me one example in this book
where God used the man to accomplish a specific task you would have
used. Find me one example where God
took under his wings one you would have taken under your wings.
You see your calling, brethren. That's the way it's always been.
God's chosen the foolish, the base, the all-scouring things
of the earth, things that are nothing, that know flesh and
glory in his presence. Faith cherishes and prizes the
Lord Jesus Christ. Faith chooses Christ above and
to the exclusion of everything. Let it set in. Faith chooses
Christ above and to the exclusion of everything and everybody. Faith counts Christ precious
and all things but dumb in comparison to him. Unto you therefore which
believe, he is precious. Number four. despises Christ and cherishes
its own lust. Unbelief despises Christ and
cherishes the lust of the flesh. Unbelief despises Christ and
chooses the world. What do you mean? You mean all
unbelievers just walk around cussing and using God's name
in vain and spitting in Christ's face? Uh, yeah. Yep. That's how men live. They may be in church every Sunday
and they may be clean as hamsters. They may be just as straight
as a gun barrel, but unbelief despises Christ and chooses his
lust. Always does. Always does. Esau sold Christ for a moment's
gratification. to his flesh. There are multitudes like him.
In Limelech you will remember the book of Ruth during the time
when hardship came to Bethlehem Judah. In Limelech sold everything
he had and went somewhere else. The sons of Korah thought they
would seize an opportunity for fame and glory and went to hell
with it. chose 30 pieces of silver and
betrayed the Son of God. Demas, having loved this present world,
turned away from Christ and went to hell. Jacob preferred Christ to everything
and to anything. He said, I'm going to have it. Esau said,
you can't have it. Isn't that something? Now listen
to this. Don't miss it. I promise you
this fifth statement is worth a whole lot more thought than
you and I have yet given to it. I hope we'll give some thought
to it. Listen carefully. God gives everybody exactly what
he wants. God gives everybody exactly what
He wants. If I want Christ, God gives Him
to me. I fully acknowledge if I want
Him, God's the one who made me want Him. I fully acknowledge
if I seek Him, God's the one who put it in my heart to seek
Him. I fully acknowledge that if my heart is turned toward
Him, it's because God turned my heart toward Him. But hear
me, the Lord God doesn't give Christ to anybody except folks
who want Him. When you seek me with all your
heart, you got me. So what does it say, ladies and
gentlemen? Seek me with all your heart, you'll find me. But if you want this world, if
you want your own life, if you want gratification to your lust,
if you want what all men naturally want and choose, unless God Almighty
makes you a new creature by his grace, you're gonna get it. You despise his son and choose
the lust of your own heart, God will give you that. Oh, how I
pray that he will call you to seek Christ. But God will give him what he
wants. He did Esau. Esau found enough to gratify
his heart in the portion with which he was blessed." In Genesis
33, you don't need to turn there, verse 9, Jacob is coming back
down. He's left his uncle behind, that wretch,
and he's gone back home, and he's sent everything out in front.
He knows, he saw, he's sworn to kill him. He sent everything
out in front of him and said, And Esau said, I don't know what
you got. He said, I have enough. I have enough. Look at my wives I've taken from
among these pagans. Look at my cattle, look at my
herds, look at my power, look at my possessions. I got what
I wanted, I have enough. And he went to hell with it. And Jacob said to Esau, Take
it. I have enough. I've got what I wanted. And I
don't want any of this. You take it. Now turn to Ecclesiastes 3.11.
I'll make good on what I say. Here's the sixth thing. When the Lord God shuts the sinner
up in reprobation and judgment, When does God do that? I don't
know. I don't know, but I know he does. When God Almighty gives a man
over to his own way, when does God do that? I don't know, but
I know he does. That man's doomed forever. If God turns a sinner
over to himself and lets him have his own way, he's as good
as in hell. When God shuts the door, it's
not going to be open. Well, God doesn't do that until
a man dies. I'll have you to understand that
God Almighty shut the door of the ark before there was ever
a drop of rain to fall. Yes, he does. And this is what
he does. Ecclesiastes 3.11. God has made
everything beautiful in his time. Also, and you'll see the beauty
of it in God's time. He had set the world in their
heart. How come? Read the next line. So that no man can find out the
work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Oh God,
don't set the world in my heart. Love not the world. Seek ye first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and don't worry about anything
else. Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Nothing
else matters. Oh, my soul, hear me. Nothing
else matters. Nothing. Count everything else
but dumb. Bob and I were chatting yesterday.
He'd been in a funeral home. I guess it was last, sometime
this week. I can't remember whether it was yesterday, Bob, when we
were talking earlier. Friend died, heart attack, 65
years old. Correct. All his adult life. Only thing
he's interested in is how well the stocks are doing. Read the
stock market report first thing every morning. This is what God says. Because
I've called, he refused. I stretched out my arms, he would
not regard me. He said, because they were none
of my counsel, because they despised all my reproof, therefore shall
they eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their
own devices. God will give a man what he wants,
ultimately. All right, now learn this. When the Lord God shuts the sinner
up, he's doomed forever. God gives him what he will. But having said all that, here's
the seventh lesson. Nothing stands in the way of
God's purpose. Nothing hinders God. Nothing. Not all the scheming of the elect
or the reprobate. Not all the devisings of men,
be they good or evil. Not all the works of men, be
they chosen or not chosen. Not all of hell, not all the
angels of heaven, nothing hinders God Almighty in the accomplishment
of his purposed grace. Jacob have I loved. And I'm going
to hesitate. But Isaac, Jacob have I loved. I'm going to have him. But Rebecca,
Stephen, Jacob have I loved. I'm going to have him. But Jacob,
Jacob, Jacob have I loved. And I'm going to have him. And
it doesn't matter who has to be mowed down to get him. I'm
going to have him. It doesn't matter what world
has to be turned inside out to get him. I'm going to have him.
And God's purpose stands. Not only does it stand, but Bobby,
so wise, so infinite, so good, so gracious, so sovereign is
our God. He even takes that which men
in hell would use to thwart his purpose and uses it to accomplish
his purpose. I'm talking about God. All right. One last thing. Turn back to
Genesis 27. I want you to see this. The title
of the message is Isaac's Remarkable Faith. And here's the point. Faith, ultimately. Now, we're
going to have some struggles. We're going to have some struggles. As long as we're in this body
of flesh, buddy, we're going to have some struggles with this. We're going to have some struggles,
but faith ultimately bows to the will of God, because that's
what faith really wants. Isaac loved Esau. Isaac said Esau's the boy! Esau! Oh Esau, that's the man,
that's the man, that's the man. Let's look at verse 33. When he finally showed up to
God's purpose, to God's will, Isaac trembled exceedingly. Oh, Esau, where is he that has taken venison
and brought it to me? And I have eaten of all before
thou camest. And they blessed him. But that's
not the end of it, my son. He shall be blessed. Amen. Verse 39. But what have you got for me,
daddy? Curse you. Curse you. Curse you. Curse you. Curse you. You chose the earth,
you got it. You chose the gratification of
your flesh, you got it. You will be blessed! I believe
in the Lord! Look how God blessed Esau! But
everything he had, sweet as it was in his mouth, was bitterness
in his belly, and is to this day. Because his blessing That which
was viewed providentially as a blessing, that which he considered
his blessing was the curse of God's judgment. And Isaac said, I will be done. Faith always does. Faith bows to God's will. And God may break your heart
to get you to do it. And he may break your heart a
thousand times to get you to do it. And he may keep breaking
your heart, David, until you draw your last breath to get
you to do it. But faith bows to God's will. Because that's what faith wants. Amen.