Genesis 26:34-27:29 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you,and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"
Esau was Isaac's son, but through his choices made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
Esau lived in such a manner that he would take whatever his eyes saw without regard for God or his parents' instruction.
Are you living your life in such a way that God's blessing can be with you?
What does God bless?
How do you obtain God's blessing?
Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Proverbs 14:21 Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
Proverbs 16:20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
In Genesis 25, we saw Jacob finagle Esau out of his birthright. This time he came for his blessing.
The difference is subtle but powerful:
BIRTHRIGHT had to do with INHERITANCE (reward).
BLESSING has to with God's INTERVENTION and INCREASE on your behalf (fighting for you rather than against you).
Why does it matter?
Jesus said in this world you will have trouble. You do not want to face it without Him. Ultimately, you want the blessing of the Heavenly Father because you need Him not only now, but will face Him in judgement not in His death, but in your own.
What does a curse look like? Resistance.
Here's the point: We never want to lose the blessing of God being with us, backing us, opening doors and fighting battles for us when we are first aligned with His purposes.
Esau had worldly success yet lacked the blessing of his father. Do not mistake financial or relational "success" for the pleasure of the Father.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
How does this relate to our relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Jacob's mother came as an advocate for her son. She makes provision for him. She called for any curse to be upon her rather than Jacob.
Because of the exchange made with us at the cross, Jesus has become the covering before the Heavenly Father, not in deceit, but in true righteousness that we might receive the Father's blessing.
Romans 3 - God comes as our advocate through Christ to be both just and justifier in regards to our sin by taking our punishment that must be paid for on the cross.
Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Rebekah told Jacob to put on garments that would allow him to be associated with Esau and garner his father Isaac's blessing. In response to Christ's work, we are instructed to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus.
Romans 13:11-14 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
The voice is Jacob's, but the arms are Esau's. God the Father knows it is you and relates to you as such, but sees the covering of Jesus.
Just as Isaac called for game from his son, the game that we are able to give God are the good works the Holy Spirit empowers us to do.
The Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.
Outside of God's blessing, we are left to ourselves like Esau. Bitterness and enmity follow.
What good will my life be to me? God does not want to give you blessing while you are turned over to serving other gods.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?
Where are you today? In Jacob's camp with the advocate or with Esau on your own - trading material and earthly satisfaction for the pleasure of the Father?
Practicals - what to do:
1) Take an evaluation of your life. Are you comfortable with where you are because you have worldly success. Is there a deficit in your devotion to God?
2) Find your position of blessing by coming to Christ alone for salvation, coming under His covering.
3) Begin to order your life in such a way that you bring daily sacrifices to Jesus, works unto God in and through your church in the community that you might receive and walk in the blessing of the Father.
4) Repent and believe the Good News. Find your place wholly in Jesus.
Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016