And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. Genesis 27:2-4

Well were coming to the end of Isaacs life. And Isaac wants to bless his firstborn son, which was tradition back then. Esau was technically the firstborn son even though him and Jacob were paternal twins. However if you remember a few chapters back, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew

So Esau still thinks hes going to get the blessing, even though he sold his birthright. So he goes out hunting per his fathers request to find him a deer for his final meal. Meanwhile their mother, Rebekah devices a plan for Jacob to trick his father into getting the blessing. This is one of the reasons Jacob has become known as a “deceiver”

More background is the Bible tells us Esau was actually his fathers favorite because he was a mighty hunter however Jacob was his mothers favorite because he was quiet and liked to hang around the house (Genesis 25:27-28)

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. Genesis 27:19

Jacob went ahead with the plan that him and his mother came up with to deceive his father. Esau was a hairy man and Jacob wasn’t, so he wore animal fur to discuss himself. His father was surprised he found a deer so quickly, but he believed his son and ate it anyway

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. Genesis 27:29-30

Isaac blessed his son, who he thought was Esau but was really Jacob. Esau arrived right after his father finished blessing Jacob. Obviously his father was greatly confused when Esau brought back a deer at his request.

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

Eventually Isaac realized he blessed the wrong son but it was too late. Esau begged for a blessing but his father said Esau will serve Jacob. Obviously this angered Esau greatly and vowed to kill Jacob when he finds him.. This fulfilled the prophecy of two nations coming from Rebekah’s womb (Genesis 25:23) His mother sent Jacob away to hide so Esau doesn’t kill him

Esau would eventually form the nation of Edom, which would be longtime enemies of Israel for years to come!

And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. Genesis 26:24

So now that Abraham has passed away, and Isaac is married to Rebekah. Its time for Isaac to continue establishing the nation God has promised them through his covenant. This is a very interesting scripture as the original Hebrew says “Yah-weh appeared to Isaac”

Now knowing that God is a spirit (John 4:24) and nobody has seen God (John 1:18) We can make the assumption that Isaac is speaking with Jesus who is God in the flesh (John 1:14) This is an interesting moment as we remember Abraham spoke with Jesus face to face in Genesis 18 before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Now you might say, What is the big deal? Well the question has always been how were the Old Testament patriarchs saved? Well as you study the Old Testament closely you see that almost all of them have met Jesus face to face at one time.

And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well. Genesis 26:25

Notice Isaacs reaction , he built an altar to Yah-weh to worship there. So obviously Isaac met God and he accepted and worshipped him. How is this possible? Because of God incarnate Jesus Christ

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12

There is no other means of salvation then Jesus Christ, our Living Hope! Amen!

And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:23

Genesis Chapter 25 is actually a busy chapter. We see Abraham has died  and gave everything to Isaac. We also see God blessed Isaac  (25:11) and not Ishmael, because remember Isaac was the promised Son from God, Ishmael was not

Isaacs wife Rebekah then conceived twins, they will be Jacob and Esau. This is where things get interesting as Esau is technically the firstborn however Jacob will get the blessing from his father

And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? Genesis 25:31-32

Jacob knowing that he wasn’t technically the firstborn, gets Esau to sell him his birthright. Now you could do all kind of sermons with this, such as is there anything that you are selling your birthright with God? Is there any sin in this world that is worth losing your soul over?

It says that “Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34) Esau never appreciated his position as being the firstborn to begin with, he had a heart issue. Much like the people who reject Christ, they don’t value their salvation, they don’t value their position with God

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Romans 9:13-15

As the Apostle Paul is teaching here, God is displaying his sovereignty and predestination, as Jacob he has chosen and Esau he didn’t. Just as Isaac was the chosen son and Ishmael wasn’t. Now there are factors that go into consideration, as God is the only one who can read hearts and minds.

However regardless of what our opinion, God is in complete control and we are not. As he told Moses, he will have mercy on who he wants , its not up to us. As we work through Genesis we will see how Gods plan plays out and leads us to the Messiah

The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. Genesis 24:7

The time has come for Isaac to find a wife. Sarah has passed away (Genesis 23) and Abraham is now nearing the end of his life. Isaac will be the future seed that will fulfill Gods promise of making them a great nation (Israel) But Abraham wants to first find Isaac a wife before he passes away

But Abraham doesn’t just want any wife for his son, he wants a wife that was chosen by God. Currently Abraham and his family was living among the Canaanites who were wicked people. Abraham didn’t want Isaac to take one of them for his wife, so he sent his servant back to his homeland to find a suitable wife

And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Genesis 24:12

Notice before the servant pursued finding someone for Isaac, he prayed to God to help him. He wasn’t trying to fix the issue on his own he was asking God for wisdom and guidance, we should always do the same!

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. Genesis 24:15-16

Even before the servant finished his prayer, Rebekah showed up at the well. The Bible says she was very beautiful and she showed great kindness and hospitality to the strangers. God answered the servants prayer

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. Genesis 24:64-67

Isaac and Rebekah it was love at first sight. They got married and Rebekah comforted Isaac upon his mothers death which he took very hard. This is the continuation of Gods great promise of the blessed seed that would become the great nation of Israel which would lead to the Messiah

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. Genesis 22:1

This chapter is probably the most difficult chapter in the entire Bible to read and understand. Here God is going to tempt Abraham but requesting him to sacrifice his Son. Now when we read this we obviously become very emotional. We feel the sorrow for Isaac and Abraham, we feel anger that God would request this. Do we feel the same way when we think of Jesus?

Many of us are willing to accept the atoning sacrifice by Christ, but do we ever weep for Jesus? Do we ever feel the anger that our sin put him on that cross? This story is obviously a foreshadow of Christ to come and save the world

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Genesis 22:8

Now notice, Isaac asks his Father, “Where is the sacrifice”, and Abraham tells him “God will provide the Lamb” , obviously another foreshadow of Christ to come as he is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) But also from Abrahams response we see that he trust God provide a way even though he doesn’t understand it

Why would God test Abraham with this? Obviously it’s a foreshadow of Christ but also he was testing Abrahams heart. Isaac was the only thing Abraham wanted in the world, and it came to a point where he was an idol. God wanted to know was he still first

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. Genesis 22:11-12

Just then a “Messager of Yahweh” told Abraham not to lay a hand on Isaac, was this Jesus? God provided the sacrifice that day and he ultimately provided the sacrifice for us all in Christ Jesus.

Would God really allow Isaac to be killed? No because without Isaac there would be no Messianic Line, this was just a test by God to see Abrahams faithfulness. Is this story shocking and difficult? Yes but we should view what Christ did for us this shocking as well.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16