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That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. The 27th chapter of Genesis is in view tonight. It's a very sad story about four people, a family. Isaac, married to his beautiful wife, Rebekah, have by this time had two sons. We read about them in chapter 25 as they were born. Esau and Jacob, they were twins, though Esau was born first and Jacob followed. Those are the main characters in the story, those four people.
And as you go through the story, there's one glaring apparent truth. No one in this family trusts one another. Isaac is the father. He does not trust his son, Jacob. He favors his son, Esau, and he does not trust his wife, Rebekah. The Lord had spoken to Rebekah and said that the youngest son would one day be in charge and the oldest son would serve the younger.
In this chapter, his heels are dug in and he's saying, no way am I going to let that happen. I'm going to bless my oldest son before she even knows about it. I certainly won't tell her and I won't tell Jacob.
They've been holding onto that promise their whole life. Then you have Rebekah. Rebekah is listening to the conversation that dad and number one son Esau have together.
She's eavesdropping and as she's listening, she starts scheming, manipulating, conniving, figuring out a way to overturn the wishes of her husband. Then you have Esau who's always lived for himself, lived for his own flesh. Then you have Jacob who will go along with his mother and has already in the past proven to dislike his brother and here will seek to steal a blessing. So all four people in this family are messed up.
They don't trust each other. It is one dysfunctional family. The greater truth behind chapter 27 is that though it's a dysfunctional family, it's a very functional God. God will function in the midst of their dysfunction. Here's a dysfunctional family, but God will override all of the weirdness, all of the superstition, all of the stupidity and get his will done anyway. So on one hand, it's a sad story. On the other hand, it's a wonderful story of how God uses messed up people. That's why I like this chapter. The foolish things of this world, the weak things of this world are seen in chapter 27.
Really, if you think about it, this shouldn't surprise us. This is the continuing saga of Abraham's family. Isaac was Abraham's son.
Like father, like son. Abraham lied twice about his wife being his sister. Isaac lies about his wife being his sister. So we shouldn't be surprised that Jacob and his mom are tied together and trying to lie and misrepresent their own will and supersede that over God's will. It has run in the family.
It's been a family trait for a long time. But on a human level, it's sad because you're going to see some of the repercussions already by the end of this chapter. It was Shakespeare who wrote, oh, what a tangled web we weave when at first we practice to deceive. Be careful about how you represent truth. And some people see no problem with what they call little lies or white lies. Oh, it was just a little lie. It was just a little lie.
C.S. Lewis used to say a little lie is like a little pregnancy. You might not notice it at first, but as the months go on, it's apparent that there's a pregnancy. And so it is with the lie.
As years go on, the lie will become more and more apparent. Now, chapter 27, let's call it round three, shall we, of the fight between Esau and Jacob. Round one was while they were still in the womb. Remember, they were womb mates. They were twins. Rebecca was pregnant and she was having a difficult pregnancy. And she called out to the Lord and she said, you know, I don't know why I'm having such a difficult pregnancy, but there's a lot of movement. There's like a wrestling match going on inside me. And the Lord said, well, there's two nations that are in your womb.
No wonder. It's not just one child. You have two children who will become nations. They were struggling in the womb. When the birth date came and Esau was born first, the second one, Jacob, came out grabbing the heel of his firstborn brother, as if he were grabbing him to trip him or pull him back in.
So he was given the name Yaakov, supplanter, or one who grabs the heel or one who trips one another up. We read about that back in chapter 25. And I'm just going to, if you want to just turn back a page you can notice because that is the beginning of chapter 27.
Chapter 26 is a hiatus from that. It says in verse 25 of chapter 25, and the first came out red. He was also hairy like a garment, a hairy old baby. So they called him hairy, Esau. Afterward, his brother came out. His hand took hold of Esau's heel and so his name was Yaakov, heel catcher.
Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them. So their character, this is what I want to show you, their character shows up at their birth. One is going to trip up his brother. Now that will continue through life. This is round one. Round two is, as the chapter goes on, Esau is hungry, comes home to Jacob and says, look, I'm hungry. Cook me that really great red chili stew that you love to make. Jacob said, I'd love to make you a bowl of red chili stew, but I want your birthright. You're the firstborn son. I want to assume the privilege of being the firstborn son.
Esau's response was interesting. He goes, what good is a birthright to me? You can't eat it.
I'm hungry. I can't eat my birthright. And it says he despised his birthright. Jacob knew the power of the spiritual blessing behind the birthright. So he said, great, it's a deal.
A bowl of beans with red chili, of course, for a birthright. That was round two. Round three of this battle is in chapter 27. It's now Jacob will connive to seal the blessing from his brother.
Now there's something you need to remember as we're working our way through this chapter. Both Isaac and his wife Rebecca had their favorite child, and that was bad. That really divided the family because the kids knew that. They saw that.
They felt that. For Isaac, his favorite son was Esau because Esau was a man's man. He was very masculine. He loved the field. He loved to hunt. He had a gun rack in his pickup truck.
He had Field and Stream magazine all over the place. He was an outdoorsman, like a northern New Mexico hippie, a man of the field. And Isaac preferred a masculine son.
Jacob, on the other hand, was not like a northern New Mexican hippie. He was more like a San Franciscan. That is, he was cultured. He was a man of the city. It says he was smooth skinned. He loved to cook. He'd watch Martha Stewart over and over again just to learn how to make that souffle so nice. Rebecca preferred him. He dwelt in tents.
He was more cultured, not a man of the outdoors. And so they each had their favorite, and that will widen the gap and the animosity between these two boys as time goes on. We're told that in verse 28 of chapter 25. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. As much as Isaac loves his son and wants to pass the blessing on to his firstborn son, it was God who already said the elder Esau will serve the younger. That is, the younger Jacob will get the blessing.
He's going to reverse the traditional law. That was God's order. Isaac wants to make sure that doesn't happen. He's going to go against the revealed will and word of God.
There's a real lesson in watching out for first impressions that we might have. Just as there was Esau and Jacob said, you know, this is the guy that I want to have the blessing. Surely this must be the Lord's choice.
It's because I like him. My choice must be God's choice. He's a man's man. He represents masculinity.
Well, that's going to be my choice, but it wasn't God's choice. Our first impressions can be misleading. If we're going by image, we can be misled.
If we go by feelings, we can be misled. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, it's more important than ever for Christians to stand for truth in our broken culture. And in the God Speaks Biblical Answers for Today's Issues collection of booklets from Skip Heitzig, you'll get equipped to speak God's timeless truth into the big issues of our time. God Speaks Biblical Answers for Today's Issues is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your resources when you give $50 or more today to help reach people around the world with the good news of Jesus through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. You recall the story of when Saul was rejected by God and the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel and the sons of David were brought before him. And the first one that the prophet Samuel noticed was that tall, masculine, handsome, regal looking Eliab. And when he saw the oldest Eliab, Samuel immediately thought, surely this is the Lord's anointed. And he was going to crown him as king, pour the oil on him. God spoke to his heart and said, no, you won't.
I've rejected him. For the Lord said, God, the Lord does not see as man sees for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. The very one that all of the family despised and rejected was out in the fields. His name was David.
He was the shepherd boy. That was God's choice. It was not Samuel's choice.
It was not the family's choice, but it was God's choice. We judge by appearance. We vote by appearance. We want leaders that seem handsome and look the part and look as if they're intelligent and look as if they're decisive. That's who we want. We're very image conscious. And that's tragic.
That's a mistake because our first impression may not be the right choice. American politics changed from the 50s and the 60s in a very key debate between John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Milhous Nixon. It was the first televised presidential debate. That's when everything changed in America.
Did you know that? It is believed that Kennedy won the election because of that televised debate people saw and made their judgment for Kennedy based upon what they saw on television. So what they saw was Richard Nixon, who was sick in the past. He was sweaty on his brow and sweaty rolling down his face so he looked sickly and pale because he had been sick. Plus, his fashion statement wasn't quite right. He wore a pale gray suit that sort of washed him out. Whereas Kennedy wore a dark suit, had just come off a vacation and looked tanned and confident. And he won the vote. And many pundits look back on that publicized debate as what won the election. And that's when in politics people started not looking at crucial issues as much as image. Well that's what's going on in this house. A dad is all about the image. I can't have this little puny, wimpy kid as the head of my family.
I want Esau. Well years go by after this, what we just read in chapter 25. Now we're in chapter 27. Thirty-seven years are between chapters 26 and 27. That's how many years pass between just those two chapters. That's the gap between 26 and 27. Thirty-seven years.
In chapter 27 verse 1, Isaac is now 137 years old. And he's failing. His eyesight is giving out and he thinks he's about to die. So let's watch what happens. It's very intriguing. Now it came to pass. When Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, my son. And he answered, here I am.
And he said, behold now, I am old. I like the fact that he admitted it. Didn't try to cover it up or change it. It's just that I am who I am. What you see is what you get. Behold now, like look, check it out.
You can see this, right? I'm old. I do not know the day of my death. Now, therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver, and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. In the King James Bible, it's venison. Nothing like a venison steak. My dad used to be a hunter and would bring it home. And my mom, like Rebecca, knew just how to cook venison.
And it's not easy to get the taste right. So he was dreaming of it. He thought, I'm old.
I can't see. And this is a perfect chance for me to get a great meal and bless my favorite son. So it's just going to be a deal between us two gentlemen. Oh, by the way, this is going to sort of throw a wrench in your whole view of this blessing chapter. We have a Sunday school view of Isaac being on his bed and blessing his two sons. And we think, oh, his sons are probably in their 20s. They were both 77 in this chapter.
So the whole Sunday school view that you have growing up of this chapter of Isaac blessing his young sons, throw it out. He's 137. They're 77 and still hanging around home. I find it interesting that he's at 137. Now that's old. But he's sure he's going to die. He just knows he's going to die.
I got to get ready because I'm going to die. You know what really happened? You know how long he lived?
Another 43 years. So I'm thinking that this guy was a little bit of a hypochondriac. You know, he's the kind of person that would go on WebMD when they have any kind of an ache or pain and they'd read about every disease and they'd think, I have all of them.
I knew it. Or they talked to a friend, I know I'm going to die. Like the woman who had a tombstone and it read, see, I told you I was sick. I think that was Isaac. I think he was sure he was going to die, but he wasn't going to die for 43 more years. Why did he think he was going to die?
Here's my guess. His half brother Ishmael died at 137 years old. So when he got to his birthday, he thought, I can't have much longer to live.
Ishmael kicked the bucket at this age. I got to get this blessing thing all sewed up. So he called his son in.
Told him to go out and make him the savory food as such that I love him. Bring it to me that I may eat that my soul, verse four, may bless you before I die. Now Rebecca was listening. She's eavesdropping. She's not in the room. She wasn't invited. But she's close enough to overhear it.
And she does. When Isaac spoke to Esau, his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebecca spoke to Jacob, her son, saying, indeed, I heard your father speak to Esau, your brother, saying, bring me game.
Make me savory food for me that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death. Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. If you're wondering where Jacob got his conniving character from, look no further than his mother. His mother taught him the ropes. She was a pro. She was clever. She was a master. And he learned from the best.
She had already concocted the scheme. 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. I'll make it taste just like the venison that he's saying he wants from Esau. And then you shall take it to your father that he may eat it, that he may bless you before his death. Classic.
Classic. Here's a human being trying to help poor God out. Now God had said to Rebekah, it was to Rebekah when she said, why am I having such a difficult pregnancy? And God said, because two nations are in your womb and gave them the prophecy, the older will serve the younger. So she's thinking, how am I going to make this work?
What's the answer to that? You're not supposed to make it work. If God said he'll do it, he'll do it with or without you, through or not through you. You don't have to manipulate or connive or help God out. Now that's a trap a lot of us fall into. Here's the trap.
Knowing the word of God, doing the will of God, but not doing it in the way of God. That's the trap. The trap is that the ends end will justify the means. Doesn't matter how you get to it. Just arrive at that end. God said, this is going to happen. I'll help God get there. Knowing the will of God or the word of God, doing the will of God, but not in the way of God.
Does it matter? Well, just ask Moses. God said, Moses, you're going to be the next deliverer of the children of Israel. Oh, he's all excited.
Well, he's nervous, but he's all excited. He's still working in the courts of Egypt. So one day when he sees an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew, he thinks, I got to do something about that.
I'm the deliverer. So he goes over and he rebukes the Egyptian for mistreating the Hebrew because he is a Hebrew. The Egyptian doesn't want to hear about it. So Moses kills the Egyptian and he thinks the Hebrews are going to make me a hero because I killed one of their enemies. Well, they did make him a hero. They didn't trust him after that.
In fact, they pointed the finger at him and said, you're the guy who murdered the Egyptian. Once he found that he was found out, Moses fled for 40 years in the Midian desert. 40 long, lonely years. Now, he'll be back, but it'll take 40 years for him to reach the lesson so God can use him. Wasted years, but years where God is molding and shaping his character. All because he tried to help God out. Didn't have to help God out. You just got to do what God said and he'll do it through you. Or ask David if this concept is pertinent in his life.
He'll tell you. You know the story how the David thought, the Ark of God is out in Philistine country because they captured it. We need to bring it up to Jerusalem. So one day he arranged for a big parade. 20,000 people were there and there was dancing and there was singing.
And he knew how to throw a party. And so he takes the Ark of the Covenant because he wants to take it from Philistine country up to Jerusalem and he puts it on a cart. And he has two people, one in front, one in back.
One is Ahio up in front and in the back, Uzzah. And as they're going down the road, the road gets a little bit shaky and the wheels start to move a little bit and the Ark starts tipping and Uzzah gets so afraid that the Ark's going to tip over. So I have to, he thought, steady the Ark and help God maintain his composure on his way up to Jerusalem. So he touched the Ark simply, simply to steady it. He had the best intentions, right? He had everything good in his heart. As soon as he touched it, God struck him dead. I talked about raining on one's parade. The parade was over.
Everybody went home. David was totally bummed out. He just couldn't believe God would do something like that. And months went by and he was pouting and pouting and then one day he decided, I'm going to read my Bible. And as he read through the scripture, he discovered that the way God prescribed the movement of the Ark wasn't on a cart for efficiency.
You don't put it on a wagon or put it in a pickup. It has to be carried on the shoulders of the priest, that there's two staves, one on either side, two priests in the front, two in the back, and it's covered. And that's how it goes to its place. That's how God prescribed it. That's his way.
Knowing God's word, doing God's will, but not in God's way, is not good. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will help you confidently speak God's timeless truth into our culture. Pastor Skip's God Speaks biblical answers for today's issues collection of booklets is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copy when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast your burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
