The
Book of Genesis
Lesson
Verse: Psalm 37:1-7
I.
Lesson Introduction
A.
Here we have the classic woman who worries about things
going wrong
B.
No rest in the Lord
C.
No confidence that God doesn’t need her to fulfil His
will
D.
So, Rebekah ignores all the warning signs, and plays God
E.
And the cost is very high!
F.
Yes, she gets her son Jacob the blessing, but loses
everything in the process
II.
Lesson
A.
Isaac’s
Dying Request (27:1-4)
1.
Isaac is about 138 years old. Thought he was about to die,
but was wrong – lived to be 180 years old (35:28)
2.
Taste for life – Reliving the memories
3.
Esau was a wicked man for the following reasons
a.
Sought to appeal to the carnal nature of his father
b.
Ignored anything spiritual – like the birthright
c.
Caused Isaac to want to “repay” Esau for all his past
efforts in making his life so good
4.
Isaac wanted to make sure he was in the right mood when he
blessed
5.
This is the only place in the Bible where a man depended
upon a feeling, and he was deceived!
6.
Times when people blessed others
a.
At weddings
b.
At birth
c.
When passing on the heritage
B.
Rebekah’s
Plan (27:5-17)
1.
She knew God’s will – as did Isaac
2.
Saw and feared the potential failures of her husband
3.
Figured a way to accomplish God’s will, in the flesh
a.
Just as Sarah did
b.
Just as Peter did when he swiped off the servant’s ear
in the garden of Gethsemane
4.
Requires absolute obedience
a.
Even though she is not absolutely obeying God
b.
And not under the authority of her husband
5.
Her Plan
a.
Trick, deceive Isaac
1)
To Rebekah, the end result justifies the means
2)
Didn’t think she was really doing anything wrong
3)
Didn’t matter the she was not willing to just talk to
Isaac, and let God work on his heart
4)
Didn’t matter even if she got in trouble
b.
Use goat’s meat
1)
It must taste a bit like deer meat (venison)
c.
Use the goat’s skin – to make hand gloves, and a hairy
neck for Jacob
d.
Wear Esau’s best clothes
6.
Jacob’s worry
a.
Isaac might “see” through the deception
b.
Jacob might be cursed instead of blessed
C.
Jacob’s Deception (27:18-29)
1.
The Encounter
a.
Here is a blind man, attempting to discern the truth
b.
Here is a deceiver, trying to hide the truth
1)
Jacob’s voice was suspect
2)
Jacob’s ability was suspect
3)
Jacob’s skin was similar to Esau’s
4)
Jacob’s cooking was good
5)
Jacob’s smell was similar to Esau’s
c.
But it was not Jacob
d.
Same with false Gospels, and false Jesus (Gal 1:6-9; 2Cor
11:1-4, 13-15)
2.
The Blessing
a.
Isaac had wrong ideas about the “fields” – they were
not blessed, but cursed (Gen 3:17-19)
b.
Asks God’s blessing upon all of Jacob’s crops, and
fields
c.
Asks God to make peoples serve Jacob and his descendants
– including any other sons of Isaac and Rebekah
d.
Isaac places God’s special covenant blessing upon Jacob
– don’t curse Jacob!
D.
Esau’s Defeat (27:30-40)
1.
Comes into the room just minutes after Jacob accepts the
blessing
2.
Announces he has done as commanded – obeyed the strict
interpretation of the law
3.
But didn’t count on another force being at work, that
would steal the blessing from him
4.
Isaac is shocked, and was overwhelmed with surprise – he
had been tricked (that’s how people will feel when they end up in hell)!
5.
Isaac surrenders to the inevitable (Gen 27:33)
a.
God uses authorities to bless and curse nations
b.
Even when those authorities do it wrongly
c.
Isaac prophesies – Jacob WILL win out in the end
d.
Jacob remembers (25:23)
6.
NOW Esau feels the pain for his neglect, and non-interest
7.
Cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry
8.
Begged
9.
But there was nothing more Isaac could do – his word was
as good as law, and could not be changed
10.
Esau was cheated out of something he never wanted until it
was too late
a.
Cheated subtly
b.
Cheated completely
c.
Realises that Jacob had supplanted him two times now
1)
But is it not true that Esau did not care the first time
2)
And this time was due to out-smarting Esau
11.
Now Isaac realises that he had never really cared for
Jacob before – he had not reserved a blessing for Jacob at all, so there was
now none for his favourite son, Esau!
a.
Esau must serve his younger brother
b.
Isaac should have brought up God’s will, and words, but
neglected to
c.
Jacob gets all the farm, and the authority
12.
Isaac does find a little blessing
a.
Live among the already blessings of the fatness of the
earth
b.
Live by your sword
c.
Serve your brother
d.
One day, break free of Jacob
13.
What a dumb thing to tell your son, when you KNOW that was
not God’s will!
E.
Sin’s
Shadow (27:41-46)
1.
Esau’s hatred
2.
Hatred turns to murder – will hunt him down
3.
Hatred becomes a comfort – part of the life. Esau passes
this hatred onto his descendants, and they only hate Israel
4.
Rebekah begins to hurt
a.
Has to send away her beloved son to her brother for a wife
b.
Thought that maybe Esau’s hatred would subside “a few
days”. Her few days turns into 20 years (31:41)
c.
Tells Jacob to OBEY her again! Jacob only obeys when there
is propfit for him
d.
Thinking only of herself – “Why should ‘I’ be
deprived of you both?”
e.
Lies to her husband about why she has to send Jacob away
f.
Rebekah will never see Jacob again alive!
III.
Conclusions
IV.
Study Questions