Today, I want to start looking at Jacob’s life. He was born when Isaac was sixty years old. Abraham was one hundred sixty years old. Isaac had a twin brother named Esau. Esau was considered the oldest because he came out first. Rebeckah, Isaac’s wife had a difficult time during her pregnancy:
Genesis 25:21-22 NKJV
Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went to inquire of the LORD
She must have been very uncomfortable, because she went to
God and said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” She’s like us isn’t she? When things in our lives are difficult and
uncomfortable we all say, “Why is it like this God?” She may be thinking “God, you gave this
blessing to me when Isaac cried out to you for me. If this is from You, why is
it so hard?” We think if it came from
God, it should be easy, with no difficulty, don’t we? But it isn’t always like that. Life sometimes intrudes on the blessings of
God in our lives.
Look at God’s reply to Rebeckah:
Genesis 25:23-24 NKJV
And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger." So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.
She gave birth to twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was born first, followed closely by
Jacob, who had actually grabbed ahold of Esau’s heel.
Genesis 25:25-26 NKJV
And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
The name Jacob, literally mean – Heel Grabber. The implication is that he is a usurper, as
if he was attempting to keep Esau from being the first born.
In Isaac's time, the firstborn son held a privileged
position in the family and was entitled to special inheritance rights. This was
known as the birthright, which included:
- A
double portion of the inheritance: The firstborn received twice as
much as the other sons (Deuteronomy 21:17).
- Leadership
of the family: He would become the head of the household after his
father’s passing.
- Blessing
from the father: A special blessing was given, which carried
significant spiritual and material implications.
But that inheritance could be lost or transferred. Look at this interaction between the two
brothers:
Genesis 25:29-34 NKJV
Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
So this is one of the ways in which Jacob’s name was a
prophecy of who he would become.
Basically, he’s taken advantage of Esau and STOLEN his birthright. This
gives you an idea of Jacob’s character during this part of his life. But I want you to understand that we can
change who we are during our lives. For
example, I am not the same person that I was in my twenties. There has been a change in my personality as
well as my character. I’ve changed as a
result of my encounter with Jesus.
Jacob’s character changes for the exact same reason later in his life
and we will examine that in another lesson.
Esau and a Bowl of Beans
I want to look, though at this episode with respect to Esau.
Genesis 25:32-34 NKJV
And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Esau had been out hunting, and he returned, and the Bible says
he was weary. We, in the times we live
in, use the word weary to mean tired or exhausted. But the word translated from the Hebrew
carries the idea of being faint or weak from hunger. It implies a great need for rest and
nourishment. This is the state that Esau
was in when he returned and saw Jacob had cooked a stew made of Lentils.
But remember Jacob was a usurper and an opportunist and uses
this to manipulate Esau into giving him his birthright, which is his
inheritance. I want you to think about
this for a moment. Basically, his
birthright had so little importance in his life that he gave it up for one
meal. He said, “Look, I am about to die,
what does this birthright mean to me?”
That’s really another way of saying, “Who cares? It’s not important to
me!” The Bible says he “despised” his
birthright. So, according to the Bible he
had disdain for his birthright. You could say he took that birthright for
granted.
Each of us, through virtue of our salvation also have a
birthright. We have an inheritance in
God:
Romans 8:16-17 NKJV
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
How many of us take that inheritance for granted. How many of us are willing to give up the
promises because of some trivial thing.
Have you seen people backslide because of some old habit that they
can’t break free from? Or maybe because of some hot girl or handsome guy? Or maybe leave the church to take a job that
pays just a little more, but requires that they work during service times? Is this much different than what Esau did
when he sold out his birthright for a bowl of beans? Not too much.
Here is the really sad part that is a warning for us:
Hebrews 12:16-17 NKJV
lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Do we really want to take such a risk with our
inheritance. Are we so willing to throw
away the promise of God. We need to
guard our hearts and our thoughts. What
we care about we will do what we must to protect it. We need to diligently seek God to protect our
birthright in Salvation.
Isaac’s Final Blessing
Isaac has become blind and is very old and near death. It’s become time for him to bless his sons
with their inheritance. He tells Esau go
and hunt some game, cook it for me so that I can eat it and bless you. Rebeckah
overhears this:
Genesis 27:6-7 NKJV
So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 'Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.'
Let’s leave the story for a moment and look at the
relationship between all of them:
Genesis 25:28 NKJV
And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Isaac had more affection for Esau…and Rebeckah had more
affection for Jacob. In other words,
they each had their favorite. Rebeckah
was determined that Jacob would receive the blessing and she gives him some
diection:
Genesis 27:9-10 NKJV
Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death."
She has come up with a plan to deceive Isaac and usurp
Esau’s blessing for Jacob.
Genesis 27:14-17 NKJV
And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Remember that Esau was a hairy man and Jacob was not. So, she put the goat fur on his hands and neck
so he would appear to be hairy to his father who was blind. Then she put Esau’s clothes on him so that he
would carry Esau’s smell. Then she cooked the meal and bread and gave it to
him.
Jacob received the blessing that was meant for Esau, through
this deception:
Genesis 27:22-24 NKJV
So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he 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. Then he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am."
Genesis 27:27 NKJV
And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.
Jacob has deceived Isaac and now receives his brother’s
blessing:
Genesis 27:28-29 NKJV
Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!"
Jacob now has stolen his brother’s birthright, deceived
Isaac, and usurped his brother’s blessing.
He goes on to become one of the great patriarchs of our faith. How can God use this deceitful, lying, thief to
perpetuate the lineage of Jesus and to be the father of the nation of Israel?
I’m going to dive into this next week, and you will see how
God can do this. It is a testament to
God’s power to change lives and use those who we would consider to be unusable.
