Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jan 10th, 2023 Savoury Meat – Guest Post by Wade Thompson

Today’s Passage – Genesis 27 – 28 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 19 – 20; Proverbs 10; Psalms 46 – 50)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0110 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “A Disfunctional Family,” “I am with Thee,” “The House of God” and “Savory Meat“

“18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.” (Genesis 27:18-23)

In Genesis 27, we read the very familiar passage of Jacob deceiving his father, Isaac. We see a level of treachery that no one would ever want to see in their family. As I read this passage God stirred a couple of thoughts in my head about the New Testament Church Age that we live in. Just as Jacob was Esau’s brother, we in the family of God have our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

1.     Jacobs Subtlety 

Jacob was willing to go to great lengths just to deceive his brother for his birthright and also to deceive his father for his blessing. What lengths are we willing to go to do the same to our brothers and sisters in Christ? We as Christians are supposed to work together in unity:

 “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.)” (1 Corinthians 1:10)

A lot of times all we do is strive for recognition, praise, and the “Blessings of God.” The problem is when we do that we bulldoze everyone in the way to get there and miss what it’s all about.

“And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.)” (Genesis 27:35)

The devil is all about subtlety; if we are not careful, he will lure us through pride into dividing the church family. 

2.     Isaac’s Lack of Discernment 

Isaac was very fast to just give the blessing to Jacob without discerning who it was.

 “And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, the voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.” (Genesis 27:22)

To Isaac, Jacob smelled, felt, and cooked like Esau, but he sounded like Jacob. Just as Isaac was deceived, Satan is out trying to deceive us.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

The devil will always try to trick you with a cheap replica. It will always seem just like the real thing but something is always off. That is why we need discernment from God, so when the devil tries to trick us, we will know it’s him and not God. 

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

The devil is very subtle. We saw that in the Garden, but because of the warnings in the Scriptures, we know that and need to have our guard up. We might just want to be lifted up, be recognized, and have praise, but don’t be fooled, the devil is using you to divide and sow strife in God’s church. 

3.     Esau’s Anger

Esau did everything he was supposed to do, he obeyed his father, went out hunting, cooked the meal, and brought it to his father, but his own brother went in before him and stole his blessing. In the Christian life there will be some point where someone you loved, someone who is close to you, wrongs you. Sometimes you are doing exactly what you are supposed to, and the betrayal still happens. In those situations, we cannot act out in anger 

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Proverbs 16:32)

I think the best New Testament example of this is Jesus. Obviously being Christ, he never did anything wrong. He was doing all the things God commanded Him to do, yet there was still Judas. Jesus didn’t act out in anger but still loved judas. As Christians, we can’t control what others do to us, but we can control our reactions, sometimes the best thing to do after someone stabs us in the back is pull out the blade wipe off the blood and hand it back. If that person betrays or wrongs you and gets a reaction out of you, such as anger, your testimony and the cause of Christ is blasphemed. If you react in the love of Christ and “turn the other cheek,” the other person will see that and will not forget, and will see what it means to be a true Christian. As Christians, we need to live by the truths found in God’s Word because, as this passage spoke to me today about my life, His Word will do the same to you.