Exposition of the Book of Genesis

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Exposition of the Book of Genesis

• Working Like the Devil Serving the Lord
• January 11, 2011
• Text Genesis 27

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Review

• what the Bible teaches about generation curses.

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The Problem

• We live in a world that is looking back over its
  shoulder more than any generation in the past.

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We also live in a

• world where the moral fiber of humanity is
  disintegrating right before our very eyes.

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We are a generation of

• victims
• Alcoholic parents
• Favoritism
• Single parent homes
• Peer rejection

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We are not to forget

• the past but neither are we to wallow in it
  either. Either God is God or He is not. Either He
  does what He says or He does not..

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A generational curse

• is inconsistent with who God is. It is true that
  at times in history, God punished the whole
  nation for the sin of one individual or a family
  for the sins of one person, but always with
  limitations, and the coming of Christ, changed
  everything.

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The Bible does not

• teach that we are bound by generational curses.
  Period.

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A generational curse

• is a deliberate decision by God to hold future
  generations accountable for the conduct of past
  generations.

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One place in

• Scripture where God pronounces a curse for sin,
  the curse was not on the woman or the man. The
  curse was on the serpent and the ground. (Gen.
  314-19)

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It is possible to

• conclude that because the home environment and
  even some inherited traits may detrimentally
  affect children when they become adults, some may
  call this a curse but is not in reality a
  generational curse.

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Exodus 347

• who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who
  forgives iniquity, transgression and sin yet He
  will by no means leave the guilty unpunished,
  visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children
  and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth
  generations.

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Deuteronomy 2416

• Fathers shall not be put to death for their
  sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their
  fathers everyone shall be put to death for his
  own sin.

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The Bible does

• teach that if children and grandchildren follow
  their fathers example and repeat their fathers
  sin, they will be dealt with as the fathers were
  dealt with.

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Summary Statement

• Jacob schemes to obtain by deception that which
  was already his.

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Mans sin can

• never frustrate the sovereign will of God but
  it can be used to fulfill it.

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The sins of Isaac

• Rebekah, Esau and Jacob did not thwart Gods
  plans in anyway. What He promised was indeed
  fulfilled.

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Proverbs 169

• The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD
  directs his steps

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Parental Favoritism

• When parents play favorites with their children,
  they start down a slippery slope that may lead to
  ultimate destruction.

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• The Conspiracy of Isaac and Esau
• (271--4)

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Observation

• There was an urgency to Isaacs desire to convey
  the blessing to Esau

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The Urgency

• Isaac perceived that he was close to death and he
  wanted to convey the blessing before he died

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The Secrecy

• Normally the blessing would be pronounced in
  front of the whole family, but Isaac was
  conspiring privately with Esau.

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The Secrecy

• Normally the blessing would be pronounced in
  front of the whole family, but Isaac was seeking
  to convey the blessing in private.

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Conspiracy

• Conspiracy and secrecy go hand in hand. The plan
  seemed to be to exclude Jacob all together.

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Conclusion

• Isaac had to know about Gods plan for Jacob and
  this had to be a deliberate attempt at
  circumventing the will of God. (Genesis 2523)

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Either by a

• genuine or a contrived sense of urgency Isaac
  sought to secretly overturn Gods revealed will
  and Jacobs rightful possession by a clandestine
  conveyance of an oral blessing. By his willful
  participation Esau disregarded the legal
  agreement he had made with his brother.

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In both instances

• a dinner provided the occasion for such
  deception. To sit at the table of Abraham (and
  even Lot) was to be afforded hospitality and
  protection, but to sit at the table with Isaac
  and his sons was to face the dangers of deception
  and false dealing.

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• The Counter-Conspiracy of Rebekah and Jacob
  (275-17)

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Isaacs Deception

• Isaac sought to further his own interests by
  means of cunning and deceit. Gods method of
  dealing with this was to give Isaac a wife who
  was far more skillful at manipulation than he.
  What a master of deceit this woman was.

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• Isaac Believes the Big Lie
• (2718-29)

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Isaac was deceived

• by his youngest son because he chose to trust
  his senses rather than trust God.

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• Isaac Learns and Esau Burns
• (2730-40)

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• Rebekah and Jacob have a price to Pay
• (2741-46)

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A Final Word

• One final word must be said about the matter of
  Christian ethics. Jacob was guilty of practicing
  situational ethics. He considered the plan of his
  mother from the vantage point of practicality but
  not from the biblical perspective of principle.
  He worried about whether the plan would work but
  not if it was right. He agonized over the
  consequences of the plan if it failed but not the
  morality of such a plan in the first place.

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