Genesis 27:18-29 Believers must stay disciplined in the Spirit to experience God’s perfect will and blessing
Genesis 27:18-29 Believers must stay disciplined in the Spirit to experience God’s perfect will and blessing
Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed;
28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
Background
Jacob was about to pull off the biggest heist of his life by stealing a priceless possession from his brother. No patriarch has even come close to deceiving his own father and outrightly lying in the name of God. It would be surprising if Jacob felt no fear for the divine retribution that would ensue. Perhaps what emboldened Rebekah at this fateful hour was the prophecy that granted divine preference to Jacob (Genesis 25:3). Isaac’s failure to recognise the ruse is largely attributed to his neglect and prolonged detachment from the things of God. And Jacob, in a providential turn of events inherits Abraham’s blessing and destiny. Today’s devotion teaches that believers must stay sharp in the Spirit in order to experience enduring prosperity and God’s perfect will.
Observation
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me.
Before Esau returned from hunting, Jacob quickly girded himself and lied about who he was and how God had caused circumstances to work quickly to his favour. Little did Jacob know that his actions were serious and would incur grave consequences. As Jacob spoke, Isaac appeared suspicious as he beckoned him to his side for a closer observation: Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.
“The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
It is mind boggling that despite sensing the obvious (the voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau), Isaac proceeded to bless Jacob. It appeared that Isaac’s discernment has become dangerously unsound and irrational. This is the result of years of spiritual neglect and prolonged detachment from God’s guidance. He only managed one lame attempt to clarify the voice’s true origin: Are you really my son Esau? Isaac’s subsequent action unmistakably betrayed his faithfulness and penchant for earthly pleasures: Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.
Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.
Isaac has mixed a serious event, a sacred blessing with gluttony. Isaac’s faithlessness and carelessness for sacred things has reached staggering levels. Considering the size of the meal: two young goats, Isaac is no small eater! Hopelessly given to gluttony, Isaac has allowed his appetite to become his god. And so ill-disciplined was he that Jacob had to call him up from slumber: Get up, please, sit and eat of my game. Consider Jacob’s posture when he summoned his sons to bless them (see Genesis 49:1). And Jacob’s sharpness of spirit when he discerned Joseph’s younger son as greater than the firstborn and blesses him (see Genesis 48:14-20).
Indeed, God is faithful and will not allow faithless Isaac, scheming Rebekah and unscrupulous Jacob to botch His kingdom’s plans. The sin of Rebekah and Jacob is only expedient in bringing about the unshakable plans of God. Indeed, God can use human faithlessness to accomplish His purposes. Nevertheless, man will bear the consequences of his faithless acts albeit his noble intentions.
Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.
Isaac’s blessing comprises two parts: fertility (v.28) and dominion (v.29). Dew plays an important source of irrigation for the crops in the land of Palestine. The “fatness of the earth” is a metonym for rain that will produce enjoyment for life: an abundance of grain and new wine. The second portion of the blessing pertains to establishing a nation and exercising dominion over the land. Israel’s dominion over Canaan portent Christ and the church’s universal dominion over creation. And Jacob, in a providential turn of events inherits Abraham’s blessing and destiny.
Truth
God’s perfect will if to be fully realised must be accomplished in God’s way and time
It is ironic that the righteous will of God was accomplished by the unrighteous acts of man. But not without grave consequences. What was in Rebekah and Jacob’s perception; an inextricable and precarious situation had led them into acting unrighteously. Nevertheless, this is a lesson for which Rebekah and Jacob will pay dearly to learn: the fleshly compulsions of man does not accomplish the righteous purpose of God (see James 1:20). God desires His perfect will to be accomplished without the pain of unbelief.
The point is: the end does not justify the means. Many leaders and activists of their respective interests often border on unrighteous dealings to bring about the good. They justify their actions by the nobility of their intentions that has gotten them into inextricable entanglements. Even as God’s purposes remain unshakable, but the pain of disobedience is uncalled-for.
Although Rebekah and Jacob have both fallen short, the election of Jacob as heir remains unshakable as prophesied. Indeed, God will accomplish His purposes with or without man’s cooperation. The apostle Paul said concerning the unsearchable wisdom of God; the Jew’s unrighteous act of crucifying Jesus actually led to His glorification and humanity’s forgiveness. But notwithstanding (as some have postulated) grave consequences that led to the Jew’s universal discrimination and suffering. It is wise that believers do not take matters into their own hands to bring about the perfect will of God.
Therefore, in order to understand God’s perfect will, believers must attune themselves to the Spirit. The apostle Paul said,
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. … But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things… For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:11, 14-16
The natural mind cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit like the mind of Christ can. How can we acquire Christ’s mind so that we may understand the things of the Spirit? By reading and meditating on His word, we acquire Christ’s wisdom and mind-set. By opening our minds continually to seeing the world through the Spirit’s eyes, we come to appreciate unfavourable events as the work of God. In so doing, we become God’s instruments to help establish His kingdom on earth.
Believers must stay disciplined in the Spirit to experience enduring prosperity
Isaac in his latter years has grown comfortable and careless. Prosperity has made him a glutton being fixated on earthly pleasures as opposed to things of the Spirit. Because he was not attuned to the Spirit, he would have destroyed the Abrahamic legacy if not for the providence of God. Isaac was so comfortable in his prosperity that he got careless and ill-disciplined.
If one is to experience God’s perfect will and leave an enduring legacy, he must reign in his fleshly instincts and stay sharp in the Spirit. An ill-disciplined person will inevitably make a miscalculation that will cause him his life’s work. Wisdom writers of the bible number an ill-disciplined glutton with the destitute,
Do not carouse with drunkards
or feast with gluttons,
for they are on their way to poverty,
and too much sleep clothes them in rags. Proverbs 23:20-21
The apostle Peter urged all to partake of Christ’s divine nature by exercising self-control (see 2 Peter 1:4-6). The apostle Paul likened the Christian life to a race that demands self-control in all things. And before one endeavours to teach others, he must first discipline his own body by making it his slave (see 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Self-control is a virtue that pertains to the ability to reign over one’s own physical, mental and emotional faculties. It follows that a person who is not able to discipline himself towards the mundane tasks of the day is most definitely dull in the Spirit.
How should the believer exercise self-control? The apostle John spoke about the discipline of loving God and of resisting worldliness,
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16
As the believer lives in the world, he must exercise self-control to resist the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. The glamour and pleasures of the world attempt to entrap man by its darkness. The lust of the flesh appeals to the sensuality of the flesh which the believer must vehemently reject. The lust of the eyes appeals to the imagination, the corruption of the mind. And the boastful pride of life appeals to the passions of the heart: the greed, arrogance and hate.
First and foremost, the believer must exercise discipline in the word, in prayer and by being fervent in caring for one another. The apostle Peter said,
The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8
Sound judgment is the ability to know right from wrong and this comes from the discipline of reading the word. A sober spirit that is untainted by debauchery comes from the discipline of prayer. And the discipline of meeting together in love keeps believers from committing a multitude of sins. The discipline of the word, prayer and in meeting together help believers stay sharp in the Spirit and to walk in God’s perfect will.
Application
Fasting helps the believer sharpen his spirit in the things of God. The act of fasting constrains one’s physical appetite, bringing the body into subjection under the Spirit. Fasting and meditation of the word comes hand-in-hand. Those who fast testify to achieving a clarity of mind, a divine peace and a confidence never before experienced. The suggestion is to fast over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the fast, wholly dedicate yourself to reading the word and communing with God alone. Make sure no work is done during this time. Avoid solid food and drink soya bean milk (reduced sugar) and water. Prepare yourself by eating two meals on Wednesday. Reducing to one meal on Thursday and starting the fast on liquid on Friday morning. End the fast on Monday by eating a light breakfast. Return to normal diet, but refrain from eating large portions per meal.
Dear Lord, I desire to stay sharp in the Spirit and to understand the world from your perspective. Help me to discipline myself in the word, in prayer and in caring for another. Grant me the blessing of Abraham so that I may be an enduring blessing to the nations. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.