AND THE BOYS GREW
Genesis 25:25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. 27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Isaac and Rebekah had both prayed to the Lord. He concerning her barrenness, and she concerning the struggling within her as she carried the twins in her womb. That was the time for those prayers. For now we read, and the boys grew.
Those prayers are no longer required, but offered at their opportune moment, they shall provide direction to this, then, future time. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: For there would have been no “boys” had not Isaac intreated the Lord concerning Rebekah’s barrenness. And the answer the Lord gave to Rebekah as she offered her personal prayer will have direct effect upon the future of this entire family. Therefore you must take note of the words that begin verse twenty three of this chapter. It reads; And the LORD said unto her,…
Dear Reader, this is a direct revelation from the Lord God to Rebekah alone! No doubt she told her husband Isaac. No doubt this caused her to overcome the strong bond of the mother with the first born, Esau. And no doubt, as husbands are prone to do, Isaac didn’t really give much attention to a revelation to a woman! Therefore we read that Isaac loved the one that God hated! Malachi 1:2 …yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, And notice in verse twenty eight of our text that it was a “because” love!
If someone loves you “if,” or, “when,” or, “because,” that is, based on a condition, they don’t really have a true love for you! For as soon as you are not able to provide that which causes this inordinate love, you will have their affection cease! Most are only in love with a fantasy. And when you burst that bubble, causing reality to be forced upon them, their affection will wilt.
God IS love! And he does not love us “if,” or “because,” he just loves his people! Period! Even though we are sinful and prone to wander, he just loves us! If he loved us “when” we become lovable, since we, of ourselves only become more sinful, he could never love us!
Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.
Joseph Hart 1759
For without him we can do nothing! (John 15:5). 1 Corinthians 13:5 states that love seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
And notice that Isaac’s affections are motivated by the same desires as drove Esau to sell his birthright! Both put the satisfaction of their hunger before the spiritual blessings of the Lord! For Esau sold his right of birth to Jacob for a bowl of soup! (Gen. 25:30-32). And Isaac was going to give the wrong child the blessing of God for a bowl of venison! (Gen. 27:1-4). THAT was the basis of his “because” love!
And notice that Esau was going to let his father give him the birth right, even though he had previously sold it to his brother! Although he despised the birth right, he wanted its benefit! Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
But Rebekah’s love for Jacob was unconditional! For after it states, but Rebekah loved Jacob. After that phrase there is a period! So Rebekah loved Jacob Period! As has been stated, she loved the boy whom God loved, due to her strong personal revelation from the LORD, in answer to her prayer! For the LORD had clearly told her, the elder shall serve the younger!
The lesson in this is that we should pray and listen to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit upon every occasion. For, as these prayers were prayed at the opportune moment, so yesterday’s timely prayers will have directing effect upon our tomorrow’s! Be careful, dear believer! Do not quench the Spirit in not following his unctions for prayer! Jude 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Don’t try to just fit God into your busy schedule! He will not play second fiddle for anyone! We are told to seek first the kingdom, for all else are just added things! 1 Chronicles 15:13 For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
For as there is a time and a season for all things, so there is with the timely opportunity to pray for a specific situation. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
There are times when God was not willing to be enquired of! Ezekiel 20:3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. 31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
But thankfully, there are times when God would be enquired of. Ezekiel 36:37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. Again, we should not pray out of duty, according to our religious schedule! Don’t pray, motivated by the clock, and just out of duty! Pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17), in the Holy Spirit out of devotion!
And just how can we pray without ceasing? To do so we must have a God consciousness. We must learn not to have a thought without thinking it in the awareness of God. Don’t continue in our first parents example, of sewing fig leaves as if it were possible to hide anything from God! Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Therefore we must in all our ways acknowledge him. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Therefore due to Rebekah’s earlier prayer, and the LORD’s answer, she made Jacob to be like Esau, in order to obtain the blessing. But due to Isaac’s love, more for the satisfaction of his pallet and his stomach, he was going to make Esau to be like Jacob, giving him God’s blessing!
And now the boys grew! Both tare and wheat are ordered by God to grow together! (Matthew 13:30). And so do they here. Esau is a cunning and knowledgable hunter in the spirit of Nimrod (Gen. 10:9), and in that of Ishmael (Gen. 21:20). He was called a man of the field. And according to Matthew 13:38, the field pictures the world. And we know that Esau cared more for the things of the world, than the spiritual things! Genesis 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
But we read that Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. This description places him in the realm of faith with his grandfather Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
While Esau was all about everywhere, here and there in the fields, Jacob was learning patient contemplation in the tents with his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham. And he was under the guidance of the only one to whom the Lord had spoken concerning his ‘position’ with God – his mother, Rebekah. For Esau’s ‘birth certificate’ clearly showed him to be the first born. And all Jacob had was his faith – no matter how dim – like smoking flax and bruised reed faith – to assure him that Messiah’s line would come through him!
From this impulsive and naive lad, there shall, in his last days, be given solemn testimony to Pharaoh of the dealings of God with himself. Genesis 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
The pride of life, which is not of God, had gone out of him, humility having taken its place! For he speaks not of Esau, nor birthright, but only of his standing before the Lord God in the manner of his fathers! It would do well for this present generation of professed believers to be cleansed of worldly ambition, which is the cancer of true spirituality!
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
We are instructed in John 5:39; Luke 24:27 & 44 that everything in the scriptures is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ! But where do we find any reflection of him within the character of Esau. Hidden in the Hebrew language we find that the word “hunter” listed in verse twenty seven of our text is the same word, “venison” in verse twenty eight. This word represents the one who hunted the game, and the food which he provided.
And so it is with Christ! We find him the hunter and conquerer of souls. Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And yet, we find him also as our life’s Bread! John 6:48 I am that bread of life.
Pastor Gene Breed
March 12, 2016
