Lesson 24<\/p>\n
The Supplanter at Work<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:1-29<\/p>\n
Me-<\/p>\n
All of us have deceived someone at some point in our lives.\u00a0 In my own life I have pretended to be what I was not.\u00a0 To be hypocritical is a form of deceit.\u00a0 In order to get a position I am sure that I have built myself up to impress the human resources person.\u00a0 There have been a couple of times that I found myself in a situation over my head because I thought that I knew more than I actually did.\u00a0 One time in particular I made such a move because the place I was working had a freeze on promotions and my family needed more money, because we wanted to send our children to private school.\u00a0 Fortunately, because there was eventually a need for which I was more qualified I was able to move into another position.\u00a0 The one person I have found that I cannot fool is God.\u00a0 I will always be guilty before Him anytime I vary from what is true about my life.\u00a0 The saying, \u201cYour sins will find you out\u201d is very true.\u00a0 It certainly has been so in my life.<\/p>\n
We-<\/p>\n
Churches cannot escape this sin.\u00a0 How often have we promoted ourselves by inflating the attendance or have given a false impression about the quality of what we do.\u00a0 One of the biggest falsehoods of which many churches is guilty is the assumption that they are a friendly church when the only people with whom they are friendly are those already there and not a guest coming through the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the aspects of church life that needs to be mentioned is how we present ourselves to a potential new church leader.\u00a0 All too often it would appear that we totally have our act together when in reality we may be coming loose at the seams.\u00a0 To keep from being like Abraham and his descendents, let us be a church full of integrity in the way we present ourselves to the world.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:1-4<\/p>\n
Isaac had reached the age when he realized that he needed to turn the reigns over to a new generation.\u00a0 He was blind and old and did not know how much longer that he might live.\u00a0 With the reality of the finiteness of life before him he called Esau, his oldest son, to him.\u00a0 It is interesting that before he would give the blessing to him, Esau was required to fix his father one of his favorite dishes of wild game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It may not be important but there is no indication that Isaac was aware of the deal that Esau had made with Jacob previously.\u00a0 He had given the birthright to his brother and in that regard was not entitled to the blessing that he was about to receive.\u00a0 He had given away the rights to two thirds of Isaac\u2019s possessions. This is one of the areas in which Esau had disqualified himself from receiving God\u2019s blessing.\u00a0 One other has already been mentioned in the previous lesson.\u00a0 He had married Canaanite women.\u00a0 The third and probably the most important had to do with the prophecy given to Rebekah concerning the two boys before they were born.\u00a0 Through those words God indicates that it was to be Jacob and not Esau who would receive His special blessing.<\/p>\n
In spite of all these factors, Isaac was going to bless Esau anyway because of tradition and the fact that Esau was Isaac\u2019s favorite son.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:5-10<\/p>\n
Rebekah heard the conversation between Isaac and Esau and set in motion a plan of her own to make sure that it was Jacob and not Esau that received the blessing.\u00a0 Remember that Rebekah loved Jacob more than she loved Esau. For her to decide to deceive Isaac shows a lack of respect for her husband.\u00a0 One has to wonder if there was ever the kind of love that was mentioned in Genesis 24:67 when it talked about Isaac\u2019s love for Rebekah, but nothing of her love for him.<\/p>\n
Because Jacob was complicit in the deception shows a lot about his character.\u00a0 He had learned well from his parents the art of deception.\u00a0 It is clear that he was a very ambitious or would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.\u00a0 Although he went along with the plot it was completely Rebekah\u2019s plan.\u00a0 She had probably been looking for the right opportunity for her to advance Jacob\u2019s position.\u00a0 Isaac played right into her hands with his decision to have Esau go hunting.<\/p>\n
To make her plan work she was going to prepare a meal for Isaac from the goats that Jacob was to bring her.\u00a0 Her command to Jacob was to take it into his father and receive the blessing meant for Esau.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:11-12<\/p>\n
In all of the planning there arose one small problem.\u00a0 Esau was a hairy man while the Scriptures say that Jacob was a smooth man. It is important to note that Jacob showed how unscrupulous he was by his response to Rebekah.\u00a0 He was only worried about getting caught in their scheme, not by the fact that what they were doing was wrong.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:13<\/p>\n
Little did she know at the time but her words would be prophetic to the events that were to occur.\u00a0 It may be jumping ahead a bit but there is no indication that Rebekah ever saw Jacob again after the fallout from this episode. She called down a curse upon herself and a curse she got.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:14<\/p>\n
Up to that time what the two were planning was just that, planning.\u00a0 When Jacob went to get the goats he and Rebekah stepped over the line of being guilty of sinning against Isaac, Esau and God.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:15-17<\/p>\n
Although Isaac could not see, Rebekah still made sure that Jacob was dressed for the part.\u00a0 She provided him with Esau\u2019s clothing. To compensate for his smooth skin she took the skins of the goats on his hands and at his neck.\u00a0 To complete the deception she gave Jacob the meal to take into his father.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:18-19<\/p>\n
With all of the preparations made, it was time for Jacob to go to his father and receive the blessing meant for Esau.\u00a0 When he went into his father and gave notice that he was there, Isaac sensed something was not right by asking Jacob who he was.\u00a0 Jacob told his first lie, identifying himself as Esau.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:20-24<\/p>\n
Isaac was still not certain of the identity of the person before him.\u00a0 He first asked a question, wanting to know how his son had been able to complete the assignment of killing and preparing a meal of wild game.\u00a0 When he answered his father he invoked God\u2019s name by claiming that it was He who had give him success. Secondly, he commanded Jacob to come close to him, so he could determine the identity of his son by the smell of the outdoors on his clothing. He also felt the places that Rebekah and put the goat\u2019s skins.<\/p>\n
The trickery of the two worked.\u00a0 Isaac was confused by what the two had done, for he said the clothing and hands are like Esau, but the voice belongs to Jacob.\u00a0 The fact of the clothing was enough to convince him because he had no other way of identifying him.<\/p>\n
Although Isaac blessed Jacob because he could not recognize him, after giving the blessing he asked one more time whether he truly was Esau.\u00a0 Jacob\u2019s answer at this point had to be that he was.\u00a0 Otherwise he would have been unmasked as the deceiver and liar that he was.<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:25-28<\/p>\n
At that point there was nothing else Isaac could do but have Jacob bring him the meal to receive the blessing as promised.\u00a0 Jacob obeyed his father and brought it to him. It appears that Isaac still was not sure of what was going on.\u00a0 He commanded Jacob to come close once again and give him a kiss.\u00a0 Once again he obliged his father.\u00a0 When he did Isaac assured himself that it was Esau because he again smelled the garments which carried in them the smell of outside world.\u00a0 At that point his blessing included the mention of the fact of the clothing.\u00a0 It was almost as if the blessing came to Jacob because of Isaac\u2019s love of the outdoors.\u00a0 As mentioned before he was living vicariously through Esau and blessed him for a life that did exist for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genesis 27:28-29<\/p>\n
The blessing included both financial success but also leadership over the family from that point on.\u00a0 The essence of what Isaac said applied to one in an agrarian society.\u00a0 The one that carried with it more importance and would not really occur in Jacob\u2019s life time was the second part of the blessing.\u00a0 In the future through Jacob\u2019s line, particularly in David and his descendent Jesus all nations and his people<\/p>\n
The final words were the same as given to Abraham earlier:<\/p>\n
Jacob had achieved what he desired.\u00a0 He had both the birthright and the blessing. His ambition superseded his regard for his brother\u2019s feelings and show disrespect for his father.\u00a0 If the commandments had been in place he would violated the admonition to honor father and mother.\u00a0 He obviously broke the ones about lying, stealing, coveting and dishonoring God.\u00a0 Although, Isaac had given the blessing, would God honor it?\u00a0 God was silent at this point.\u00a0 This was a blessing of one man conferred upon another.\u00a0 Although, Isaac referred to God, it was truly Isaac\u2019s desire for his son Esau and not Jacob.<\/p>\n
You-<\/p>\n
We-<\/p>\n
We have not even come to the consequences of the actions of these two people and can already sense trouble ahead.\u00a0 Let each of us give consideration to what the results will be of any decisions we might make as a follower of Christ or the church as a whole.\u00a0 We must never do anything for the wrong motives that might bring disgrace on our Lord.\u00a0 God really does expect for us to be totally above board in all of our action.\u00a0 Remember the things we do have eternal consequences.\u00a0 The way we act sometimes might indicate that others may think differently. Our thoughts and deeds should be those which will cause God to bless those things we do and are planning to do. He will be silent if we try to deceive ourselves or others to bring about the desires of our own hearts.\u00a0 To wait on Him will carry with it much greater rewards<\/p>\n
Additional notes:<\/p>\n
Jacob began as a grabber or supplanter and had all of the attributes that at any time of history make one successful.\u00a0 He had ambition, drive and did not mind using any means to achieve his goals.\u00a0 In today\u2019s society he would be considered a successful man when viewed by those outside the family.\u00a0 He was a driven man who saw what he wanted and went after it with a vengeance.\u00a0 Sometimes to achieve his end he had to overlook how his actions might advice he heeded was that which was in his best interest, even when his actions were detrimental to his relationship with others.\u00a0 He deceived his father, stole his brother\u2019s blessing and caused mistrust between his parents.\u00a0 When Jacob met God at Bethel, his life slowly began to change into one who:<\/p>\n
BL- We studied Genesis chapter 27 (ALL OF IT!), as Isaac’s family continued their dysfunctional ways(boy, could they make a great soap out of these peoples’ lives, or what?).\u00a0 This week, Rebekah overheard Isaac preparing to bless his eldest son, Esau, as soon as Esau returned from the hunt.\u00a0 Rebekah, determined that her favorite son, Jacob, should receive the blessing, cooked up a scheme (couldn’t resist!) to deceive Isaac. She prepared Isaac’s favorite stew and dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes and some hairy goatskins in order to pass him off as his brother. Isaac, who was now blind, fell for the trick and blessed Jacob instead of Esau with just about everything he could think of!\u00a0 Now that patriarchal blessing might not seem significant to us, but in those days, great importance was attached to it–they believed that God’s hand was in it (and it WAS!) and that it directly affected the future of the individual who was blessed.\u00a0 Evidence of the blessing’s importance can be seen in Rebekah’s and Jacob’s use of trickery to obtain it and in Esau’s and Isaac’s anguish over giving it to Jacob. Once Isaac realized his “mistake,” he blessed Esau, too, but Esau’s blessing was far less bountiful than the one that Jacob received.\u00a0 This was all, of course, a part of God’s plan–He had prophesied that the older son would serve the younger before the boys were even born–but the way in which Jacob obtained the blessing was not in accordance with His ways. Rebekah and Jacob would end up paying a great price for manipulating God’s will, as we shall see in later chapters. Buddy pointed out that people today are often guilty of this same faulty thinking–we believe that if we are successful in reaching goals that we have set for ourselves, then God’s hand must be in it. While it is true that God DOES have a plan and a purpose for each of us, His plans may not be the same as ours!\u00a0 Moreover, with God, the ends NEVER justify the means–He cares very much how we reach the go!
\nals He has planned for us.\u00a0 If our methods are not in accordance with His (i.e., in keeping with His Word), then we, too, will suffer as Jacob and Rebekah did–with broken relationships to God and others, with worry, fear, even physical problems.\u00a0 God loves us, and He will discipline those He loves in order to teach us to wait on Him!\u00a0 Are the goals that you and I have set for ourselves in keeping with God’s goals for us?\u00a0 Are the methods we are using to obtain them in accordance with His Word?\u00a0 There is a lot we can learn from the life of Jacob–which is why the “Old” Testament is never really old!<\/p>\n
C-Isaac\u2019s physical condition comes into play as the next episodes of his family unfold.\u00a0 With old age came blindness.\u00a0 This fact played into the hands of Rebekah as she plotted to have Jacob receive the blessing due Esau.\u00a0 How the relationship had changed over the years from the time Isaac and Rebekah loved the boys equally.\u00a0 Now there was a competition and division between them.\u00a0 Isaac loved Esau because he was a man\u2019s man.\u00a0 He lived vicariously through Esau\u2019s love of the outdoors and his hunting skills, abilities Isaac had never possessed.\u00a0 In lifestyle he was more like Jacob than Esau.\u00a0 That is probably the reason he gravitated towards Esau.\u00a0 We generally do not like to be around those completely like us because they always remind us of the attributes we do not like about ourselves. (Gen. 27:1, 12; Ps. 78:36; 144:11; Prov. 24:28; 26:19; 27:6; 30:8)<\/p>\n
WM-Both Jacob and his mother Rebekah, lacked integrity.\u00a0 To get what they both wanted for Jacob they were willing to deceive and lie to Isaac and even invoke the Lord\u2019s name as part of the ruse.\u00a0 They acquired the blessing for him, but at a great cost.\u00a0 Rebekah lost her son because he had to flee for his life never to return during her lifetime.\u00a0 Esau took\u00a0 revenge on his family and married another Ishmaelite. (Gen. 27:<\/p>\n
TM-Rebekah\u2019s part in the deception of Isaac shows an attitude of anything goes.\u00a0 Her actions provide us a glimpse of the personality trait that most likely had a profound influence throughout Jacob\u2019s life.\u00a0 God\u2019s word tells that she loved Jacob more than Esau, so naturally she would look out for what she would have perceived as his best interest.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Gen.27:5-29)<\/p>\n
UE-Rebekah conspired with Jacob to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob thus depriving Esau of his rightful blessing. (Gen. 27:5-29, 33-36)<\/p>\n
TM-Deception brings heartache, anger, mistrust and division in families, churches and other organizations.\u00a0 (Gen. 27:5-46)<\/p>\n
M-Often the desire to excel overshadows what is right.\u00a0 Jacob succumbed to his mother\u2019s ambition for him and his own drive to succeed in carrying out the scheme to deceive his father. (Gen. 27:8-29)<\/p>\n
DM-Rebekah\u2019s part in the deception would change her life forever.\u00a0 It was her defining moment.\u00a0 She is probably remembered for this one act than anything else she did in her life. GC-Jacob should not have deceived his father, not because he was afraid of being caught but because it was wrong. She:<\/p>\n
We have to wonder as she reflected on her actions was it truly worth it committing such an act of deception. (Gen.27:5-41)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lesson 24 The Supplanter at Work Genesis 27:1-29 Me- All of us have deceived someone at some point in our lives.\u00a0 In my own life I have pretended to be what I was not.\u00a0 To be hypocritical is a form of deceit.\u00a0 In order to get a position I am sure that I have built […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=125"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}