Jacob God's Geek
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Last week we learned that Isaac made some of the same mistakes as His father, but for the most part, he was faithful to God. He exceeded even his father’s faith during the famine, and when he faced obstruction at the hands of the enemy because they were jealous of his success. He overcame him by trusting God and not his outward circumstances to the point where in the end even his enemies had to admit that he was blessed by God, and so they came to make a treaty with him.
Last week we found out that there is not much written about Isaac, but there is this very important point. Isaac’s name is always mentioned with God’s name whenever He introduces Himself. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!” How cool is it to be so highly esteemed and blessed by God that He uses you as a reference for His services. Can you imagine Him saying, “ I am the God of Norma and Vanessa and Sherri?” Well that’s exactly what God wants to do. He wants to use your life as a reference for what He is able to do for someone who trusts Him. Here’s the catch though. You have to trust completely.
Oh Baby, not again!
Oh Baby, not again!
Isaac had one more area of faith where he and his wife distinguished themselves from his father, and that is how we start our message. Today our message is not about Isaac, though this does happen in the time of Isaac, it is about his sons, and the contrast between the two. You see, they are the perfect examples of the difference between a person who is worldly and one who is spiritual.
So let’s start right at the very beginning:
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 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.
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 right off the bat, we see where Isaac was a bit more trusting than God. Rather than scheme up a way to have heirs, like his mom and dad did, He went straight to God and pleaded with him regarding Rebekah. So what happened? Well she got pregnant and whoah man, what a pregnancy it was! It was two babies each with a very different nature. It says that even before they were born these two children struggled within her.
I want to suggest to you today that we are also pregnant with two natures, and that the two natures struggle, one is also older than the other, but our job is to assure that the prophesy that the older will serve the younger is fulfilled. I want to talk about the struggle first.
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Now here in this interplay between Jacob and Esau we see this very truth playing itself out for all to see. Let’s read.
So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 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.
So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
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.
The two boys are born, one looks like a sasquatch and the other is a bit of a geek.
The one was a strapping hunter- Dad really liked him, the other was a mamma’s boy – mom favored him. So now that we know the players let’s look at the first act.
Esau goes out and does his studly best to get some game. He goes out and he is dead tired when he gets back. Jacob on the other hand has been watching Rachel Ray on food network and has come up with a yummy red lentil soup and some fresh baked na’an bread. Looks good and Esau is hungry.
For being such a big stud Esau is a bit of a drama queen, and I bet his twin brother knows it. Just look at how he teases him.
Well Esau is crying like a baby because he really wants lentils gets so over dramatic that he literally gives away his birthright.
Here is the first rule of being spiritual. When you are super tired, beware of the temptations of the enemy!
The problem isn’t just that Esau is tired, it is that he has an appetite.
Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,
whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
Paul tells us to follow HIS example, and that of the other disciples. This makes sense because the whole idea of a discipleship relationship was that the Rabbi’s job was to make his talmudim look just like him. Wait! Rabbi? Talmudim? What are you talking about pastor? Well let’s look at Jesus again in the context of history. He was a Jewish teacher. He was a Rabbi- 17 times in the NKJV new testament He is called Rabbi. A disciple is one who is sent to learn the Talmud from the Rabbi, so they are called Talmudim. So what does that really mean exactly? Again, it is important to understand our Christianity through the right lens. We are for all intents and purposes, a continuation of the Jewish faith. While some in here may be surprised by that it is true. The only way to really understand the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to understand Him through their eyes and the eyes of their descendants. You see, the job of the Rabbi was to teach His talmudim the their knowledge of the Torah (the Bible as Jesus would have known it) as well as the Talmud (or oral traditions), and the wisdom and spiritual understanding they would need to become exactly like their Rabbi. In fact, Jesus Himself points this very idea out to His disciples.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
“A talmid is not greater than his rabbi, a slave is not greater than his master. It is enough for a talmid that he become like his rabbi, and a slave like his master. Now if people have called the head of the house Ba‘al-Zibbul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
So what was the pattern or example that Paul and the other disciples had set? In order to live in the Spirit, we must listen to His internal promptings in our life. If we do so, then we find that it is He himself that controls the sin nature within us.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
So then looking back at Esau, he was driven by his appetite. Not by any thought process, or spiritual discernment. See, like Esau we often allow the appetite of right now to take over and ruin our future by making dumb choices to fulfill as it says in Galatians, the lust of the flesh.
In order to live in the Spirit, we must listen to His internal promptings in our life. If we do so, then we find that it is He himself that controls the sin nature within us.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The thing is that we allow ourselves to be carried away by these appetites, even though as believers we are no longer bound by them. We are just too stubborn to see them for what they are. We want what we want and no amount of reason gets us out of that mindset. Just like Esau, we despise our future – our birthright as believers in order to fulfill the immediate needs of the flesh. But the end of it is this:
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his mouth,
Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
Where does it start? We need to first of all change how we speak and think. See verse 12? Evil is hidden in our tongue. It starts with how we speak of things, why? Because what we say is what is truly in our hearts.
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
See, even if Esau was just being a drama queen about dying if he couldn’t get his lentil soup, he basically despised his birthright, saying the future was not as important as his appetite right then and there.
I don’t even know if Jacob understood the significance of what Esau had done, but God certainly did. You all know the story. Right before Isaac dies, he wants to bless his sons. He’s partial to Esau so he tells him to go make him some savory meat and he’ll give him a blessing. Rebekah overhears and says, “no way, I want my baby boy to get the blessing!” So they scheme a way to get the blessing from Esau and it works! Jacob gets a good blessing. We pick up the story there.
Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”
And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”
And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
See, Esau lost everything because he could not control his appetite. His appetite was spurred by the strength he gave it with his tongue. The desires of his belly became all consuming. So how do we overcome?
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul speaks of how the flesh actually was aroused by the law. If you want to know how that works, it’s pretty simple. As simple as this: If I were to tell you not to think of polar bears, tell me what image is in your mind right now? Now the law is the same, because remember- the law was given so that we might be proved to be sinners, so then the fact that something is forbidden by the law of God makes it irresistible to the flesh. Think of Eve. She had everything! Except for…
Jesus said it this way:
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
True deliverance is found only in Jesus. Only Jesus can deliver us from guilt and the very power of sin. No matter how much you want to do good- without Jesus, you just can’t.
Paul discovered this and shares it here:
If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
What the heck? With my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin? But doesn’t scripture tell us we are no longer slaves to sin? Well, yes it does, but the flesh is going to continue to want to sin regardless. The difference is that someone who is no longer a slave to sin is free to serve the law of God (with the mind – soul the part of us that thinks and reasons). Keep reading though. The next part is powerful. It says:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
This is a very famous scripture but it is also one of the most often misquoted. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus comes with a qualifying condition. You have to not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Why? It is because it is the law of the Spirit in Christ that makes us free from the law of sin and death. By dying on the cross and thus fulfilling the requirement or the debt of the law, He took the power of sin in the flesh away from us – so long as we walk according to the Spirit! . Why? It is because it is the law of the Spirit in Christ that makes us free from the law of sin and death. By dying on the cross and thus fulfilling the requirement or the debt of the law, He took the power of sin in the flesh away from us – so long as we walk according to the Spirit! What did Jesus say about the Spirit?
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Jesus said that it was to our advantage that He go away – die. Why? So that in addition to the atoning sacrifice He made on the cross, HE could send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts as an internal sentinel keeping us honest. HE keeps us from sinning. But we are to live according to the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16–18
You see, Esau was nothing like Isaac or Abraham before him, and while Jacob had a propensity to lie and cheat, he valued the birthright, he valued the things of God. Jacob would have to be dealt with by God, and in the end he would suffer great loss but he would also see the redemption of God. Because of this, the Bible says:
“I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”
Says the Lord.
“Yet Jacob I have loved;
But Esau I have hated,
And laid waste his mountains and his heritage
For the jackals of the wilderness.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
Beloved we live under grace, and so we don’t have to fear being hated by God, THAT is our birthright, but that does not give us license to be carnal and fleshy and live by appetite. There is a natural consequence to an unbridled passion or lust for anything that is of the flesh. If we put our appetite before our love of God we run the risk of being just like Esau, in that we despise that birthright of grace that we’ve been given and fall headlong into a deep spiritual death.