Read Genesis 27:1-46
This chapter underscores the importance and
value of the birthright and blessing (two different things); being understood
by the ancients yet taken for granted by the church of today.
If you recall the OT birthright consisted of three
primary parts:
1. Tribal
leadership: in the days of the Patriarchs God spoke directly with the leader or
head of the family. It also meant that the one who held the birthright was the
one through whom the covenant promise of Abraham, their grandfather, came.
2. Tribal
wealth: the eldest received a double portion whist the younger received a
single portion of all in the case of multiple sons the eldest still received
the double portion while the others received an equal share with the others.
3. Spiritual
leadership: ultimately the Messiah would come through the holder of the
birthright and bless the nations of the earth.
The blessing, on the other
hand, could be given regardless of birthright. Esau, deprived of the birthright
persuaded his father Isaac, to bless him in spite of Jacob’s deceitfulness; however,
the blessing was inferior to Jacobs as Isaac had already given Esau’s rightful
blessing to Jacob.
So Jacob knew it wasn’t enough
to acquire the birthright, he needed the blessing for completeness.
It is important today because as believers in Christ we
all become the firstborn, by faith in Christ, thus entitling us all to:
1. Reign
with Him as kings (leadership) 1Pet.2:5-9; Rev.1:5-6; 5:9-10; 20:6. This is not
only in future tense but also present. We are also to reign over evil and
Satan’s schemes in our lives today. If we are not overcoming the works of the
devil indeed we are yet subservient to the workings of Satan. Read Rom.6:1-23. Then we must reevaluate our
relationship with Him and bring ourselves into alignment with His Holy Word.
2. All
the wealth of the Father now belongs to each and every believer (double
portion); as believers we inherit all the Father has for us; while the
unbeliever still receives blessings [Matthew 5:454 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he
maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust]. Likewise this is a present and future tense
portion to every believer.
3. Spiritual
leadership as kings and priests of the Most High God Ex.15:26; 1Pet.2:5-9;
Rev.1:5-6; 5:9-10; 20:6.
All this gives testimony as to why we should give precedence
to receiving the birthright; not as Esau who was carnal minded giving no
thought to the things of the spirit.
The birthright was so
valuable that great means were taken to secure it; Gen.48:10-22 Jacob/Israel
put his hand upon Ephraim’s head for the blessing instead of Manasseh, the
eldest, to which Joseph attempted to correct his father, being blind, but
Israel corrected Joseph.
1-29
The characters in chapter 27
are: Isaac and Rebekah and their twin sons Esau and Jacob, Esau the firstborn,
entitled to the birthrights of the firstborn and his younger brother Jacob.
The chapter begins noting
Isaac’s life is nearing an end as he summons the firstborn, Esau, that he might
bestow the blessing upon him. Rebekah, however hatches a plot to have the
birthright given to Jacob instead. It is evident Jacob was her favorite from
the beginning, as was Esau Isaac’s favorite 25:28. Jacob insists his father
would curse him rather than pronounce the blessing.
Rebekah’s plan
·
Rebekah takes advantage of Isaac’s failing
health and lack of eyesight [blindness].
·
To have Jacob bring two goats by which she
would make Isaac’s favorite stew.
·
Rebekah made garments from the goat skins to
clothe Jacob, and covering his arms with goat hair thereby fooling his father
into giving him the birthright.
·
Jacob obeyed his mother and presented himself
to his father feigning himself to be Esau.
Back to Gen.25:29-34: Esau
became hungering to the point he thought he was dying and enquired of Jacob to
feed him in return for giving up the birthright. Therefore ch.27 is the
fulfillment of the birthright being changed in 25:27-34.
This is the point at which Esau was declared to be a profane person, godless and sacrilegious
as well as having a sexual vice (fornicator) [Amplified] (Esau married
daughters of the Hittites) 26:34-35. Esau’s selling of the birthright depicted
his disdain for the things of God thus speaking volumes of his character.
Everyone in the family had
firsthand knowledge of the birthright and all its value, even Esau. However, he
sold it for a morsel of meat Heb.12:16.
God has a call upon each one
of us from our birth; but many will sell out to sin thus declaring themselves
profane as Esau.
The Ruse
So
Jacob obeyed Rebekah, his mother, disguised himself as Esau, and took Isaac his
requested meal that he might receive the blessing. It worked! Isaac bought it
hook, line and sinker! Except for the voice–Jacob could not disguise his voice!
However, Isaac was stilled fooled and gave Jacob the blessing rightfully
belonging to Esau.
I believe
that Rebekah’s favoritism for Jacob was a divine province that the birthright
might be preserved to those who are spiritually minded. She must have had divine insight into her
sons.
Esau’s Blessing
27:28-29
·
Dew of heaven—plenty of moisture [heaven
smiling on Jacob]
·
Earth’s richness
·
Nations to serve Jacob and bow down to him
·
Lord or masters over his brothers
·
Jacob’s mother’s sons would bow before him
·
Everyone who cursed him would be cursed
·
Everyone who blessed him would be blessed
Surprising Discovery
30-40
No
sooner had Isaac blessed Jacob in the stead of Esau; that Esau returns from
hunting…prepares his father’s favorite meal, brings it before him and asks for
his blessing. Isaac is as surprised as is Esau. Esau begs for even one
blessing from his father which is related in 39-40:
·
39 Esau’s blessing was
to come from the fullness of the earth and the rain from the heavens.
·
40He would live by the
sword and serve Jacob
·
In the future Esau would break Jacob’s yoke
Though the blessing is
inferior to Jacob’s, it is nonetheless a blessing and not a curse. Matt.5:45…for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sendeth the rain on the just and the unjust. It is not
for us to pass judgment on anyone because the sun did not shine on them or the
rain fall on them as we all have calamity befall us whether we be His children
or not. That is simply a fact of life, thus demonstrating God’s love for all
his creation for…the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance Rom.2:4. God’s goodness to you and I before we
were saved led us to repentance whether or not we realize it. That’s another
reason why we are to demonstrate goodness toward others; it leads them to
repentance.
The grudge
41-46
All
this caused Esau to hate Jacob to the point of vowing to kill Jacob.
Furthermore, perhaps one of the servants told his mother of his disdain for his
brother; to which Rebekah reiterated Esau’s words to Jacob advising him to
pack-up and leave the country to her brother Laban in Haran; promising to send
word to Jacob when Esau’s anger abated.
Rebekah’s
fear was that Jacob wound also marry, even as Esau, the daughter of Heth, a son
of Canaan and grandson of Ham, Noah’s son. Heth was an ancestor of the
Hittites. Therefore she thought it best to send him to her brother Laban to
take a wife of family lines. The NT would call this not incest, but marrying a
believer as opposed to an unbeliever 1Cor.7:39; 2Cor.6:14-18.
NT Birthright
Luke 24:49 And behold I send the promise of my Father
upon you: but tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power [authority] from on high.
Acts 1:5, 7-8 5For John baptized with water, but not many
days from now you shall be baptized with--placed in, introduced into--the Holy Spirit. Amplified 7And He said unto them, It is not for you to
know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8But ye shall receive power [authority], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both into Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:2-4 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. 3And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of
them. 4And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
Author’s Note:
Understanding contemporary teaching of the infilling of
the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit I wish to invite you to perhaps a different
perspective. That of these passages being not only the infilling, as previously
noted, but also the pronouncement of the birthright
given to all who believe; which also includes the church as being inducted
into the NT priesthood. Perhaps the most important function of the NT
priesthood is to be witnesses. Most teachings places emphasis on the power as being able to do miracles,
healings, deliverances etc.; but I urge you to consider that before we became believer [convicted and convinced of the
finished work of Christ for our atonement]…we were powerless or without
authority to operate as such. Even the chief priests, elders, scribes, and
Pharisees asked of Jesus…by what
authority doest thou these things? And who gave you the authority to do these
things? Mk.11:28 Authority meaning:
‘who told you to do these things’?
The OT made a clear distinction between the functions of
kings and priests; it was not until David that it was acceptable for the king,
David to offer sacrifices’ clearly the function and duty of the priests.
However, the NT now ordains each and every believer as both kings and priests.
NT Kings
·
Reign with Him as kings (leadership)
1Pet.2:5-9; Rev.1:5-6; 5:9-10; 20:6. This is not only in future tense but also
present. We are to reign over evil and Satan’s schemes today. If we are not
overcoming the works of the devil then we are not kings; indeed we are yet
subservient to the workings of Satan. Then we must reevaluate our relationship
with Him. In future tense we will rule the nations, with Christ, during the
1000 years of reign on earth commencing after the Great Tribulation and Wrath
of God.
NT Priests
We have already touched on the reign as kings, now we
focus on our reign as priests of the Most High God both today and in the
future.
NT priests duties, functions
and responsibilities differ from the OT office; in that:
·
We are never to change our garments of
righteousness received at salvation.
·
We are become intercessors with God on behalf
of others. [A major part of being an intercessor is through prayer].
·
We are become witnesses to a lost world. We
are to present sacrificial offerings of praise and worship, 1Pet.2:5-9.
·
We are to be different [peculiar] from the
world we live in.
·
We are called to be saints Rom.1:7 [pure,
clean, ceremonially or morally clean, perfect, without blemish, blameless in
heart and life. does that mean we never ever sin? No! It means it is our
lifestyle; it means we humble ourselves in confession and repentance before Him
to receive His cleansing and forgiveness 1John 1:6-2:4.
In conclusion the OT birthright was by blood; so also the
NT birthright is given by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ thus adopting
us as His children and bestowing the birthright upon all who believe. That
makes you and me children of the Most High God and joint heirs with Christ.
This is God’s manner of bestowing the birthright and blessing today which
entitles every believer to participate as join theirs, all that pertains to
Christ.
When we speak of being kings and priests it is generally
taught as future tense during the millennial period after the Great Tribulation
when Christ returns and sets up His 1000 year kingdom, which is true but it
also applies to the present world in which we live and breathe.
Romans 8:14-17 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God [by birthright]. 15For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received of Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry Abba, [Daddy, signifies the natural intimacy
between a father and his son] Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God: 17and if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so
be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with him.
NT Blessing
Being joint heirs with Christ everything that pertain to Him is our
inheritance Rom.8:17 whereas the birthright is our position in Christ.
This lesson underscores the classic ongoing battle
between the spiritual man and the carnal man. The carnal man struggles to
attain spiritual blessings and positions while the man whose mind and heart are
on the things of God through faith attains them by faith.
Faith
Building Practice and Review
1. Why
doesn’t the contemporary church teach much on the birthright?
2. Are
you beginning to see the tremendous value in the birthright?
3. What
other insights have you gleaned from the birthright?
4. What
is your opinion of Rebekah’s plot for the birthright?
5. Do
you see the blessing given Jacob as the same given Abraham?
6. What
values did the birthright hold in ancient times?
7. What
value is the birthright to the Christian today, realized or unrealized?
8. How
does this knowledge affect your faith?
9. Do
you see what it means to be kings and priests even today as well as in the
future?
10. What
does it mean for you to be a king today?
11. What
does it mean for you to be a priest today?
12. Are
you a king and priest today?
13. Have
we not been fulfilling our duties and functions as kings and priests without
realizing it?
Knowing
God
A brief [not complete, add
to the list] synopsis of the persona of God:
·
Love
·
Gracious
·
Merciful
·
Righteous
·
Longsuffering
·
Gentle
·
Faithful
·
Compassionate
·
Forgiving
·
Friend
The ultimate goal of Bible study is to
know God, not simply memorize Bible trivia. As you study, identify the
attributes of God. For instance: make a note when you read of God extending His
forgiveness or compassion, and remember how He has done the same for you.
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