The Blessing of God

yeah so Genesis 26 sorry 27 6 to 29

Rebecca said to her son Jacob I heard your father speak to your brother Esau

bring me game and prepare for me delicious food that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord

before I die now therefore my son obey my voice as I command you go to the flock and bring me two

good young goats so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father such as he loves

and you shall bring it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies

but Jacob said to Rebecca his mother behold my brother Esau is a hairy man and I'm a smooth man

perhaps my father will feel me and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and

not a blessing his mother said to him let your curse be on me my son only obey my voice and go

bring them to me so he went and took them and brought them to his mother and his mother prepared

delicious food such as his father loved then Rebecca took the best garments of Esau her older son

which were with her in the house and put them on Jacob her younger son and the skins of the young

goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck and she put the delicious food and the

bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob so he went into his father and said

my father and he said here I am who are you my son Jacob said to his father I am Esau your firstborn

I have done as you told me now sit up and eat of my game that your soul may bless me

but Isaac said to his son how is it that you found it so quickly my son

he answered because the Lord your God granted me success then Isaac said to Jacob please come near

that I may feel you my son to know whether you are really my son Esau or not so Jacob went near to

Isaac his father who felt him and said the voice is Jacob's voice but the hands are the hands of Esau

and he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands so he blessed him

he said are you really my son Esau he answered I am then he said bring it near to me that I may eat of

my son's game and bless you so he brought it near to him and he ate and he brought him wine and he drank

then his father Isaac said to him come near and kiss me my son so he came near and kissed him

and Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said see the smell of my son is as

the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed may God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness

of the earth and plenty of grain and wine let people serve you and nations bow down to you

be lord over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you

cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you

it's good to be back at church and especially seeing Alex and and and Liz

giving us in music as well and also glad to see the Smith family back with verses too

for these two weeks I'll be talking about the story of a cha ego it started in March when I promised the church in Malaysia that when I when I

went back or go back there supposed to be next week then I'll be

helping them out because they don't have a pastor to preach for three weeks three Sundays and I said I will be talking about the story of

a cha ego

a cha ego

why is that so it's because a lot of time when we especially when we go back to Malaysia and attend weddings

the if it's a christian christian wedding then the pastors or people there will in prayer they always say god will bless this family and and that is the the main theme almost in all the christian weddings and it's about god's blessing and the

and it's about god's blessing on the families

however I always have this feeling that maybe people don't actually understand what it meant

to be blessed by god

do you do you really want to be blessed that's what my mind is thinking when when people are using this word blessing so

lightly and as if it is

something that is comfortable or easy

in the bible we shall see that is not or that

that is the case not the case

I think

we

you could

blessing with happiness

or blessedness with happiness

but in the bible

blessing is a type of happiness

but it's a type of happiness that can only be experienced if

you're holy

so it comes to holiness if there's no holiness there's no blessedness and that's why if we may ask god why are you so busy trying to make us holy just make me happy but god will say i can't make you happy until you're holy otherwise the happiness you're you're going through is not the real real thing and we shall see that in in this story in this coming today and next week hopefully I as I prepare this sermons I

I just get so so much out of it I it's just so much to talk about

even in

I thought even in three sermons for back in Malaysia if I go back eventually it won't be enough to

to finish

the story

and as you read even as just you read in the bible you read that

Jacob told his mom

my brother is a hairy man

and I'm a smooth man

even even if that has this

very interesting

double meaning in it

he's definitely Jacob is a smooth man

he's smooth

he's even talking to the mom smoothly

he's trying to get the mom to take the blame and he couldn't he doesn't so he's very smooth in that case

but it's very interesting as you read deeper into it and it just so much

inside that

you can we can get out

of it and see

God's amazing work in people

shall we pray before we start

let's pray

Father God we thank you for this time that we could spend in your word

and we

want to hear you speaking to us

and we

also want to

honor the Lord

Jesus Christ

for his freedom

on the cross

for us to

really enjoy

your blessing

thank you Lord

we pray in Jesus name

Amen

so

just now the story

already

Alex has shared with us

so most of us would know about this

story about

Esau

and Jacob

one thing

I think

you may not notice

is the fact that when

Jacob was holding

Esau's heel

at birth

it means that

he will need to come out of the birth can now

with his head and arm together

which is very rare in birth

usually

the baby won't come out

if you do that

you either have a caesarean section

or you try to push the hand

arm back in

before the baby comes out

if you feel that the baby

if the midwife or the

doctor

fell there

and to

to do that

it means that

Jacob must be quite smaller

much smaller than Esau

smaller head

at least

for him to

to come through

physically

and that also have implication

to know why

Jacob ended

inside the house

while Esau

was a hunter

and

and that also

I mean

explain

why

Jacob is so keen

to inherit this

the blessing

you can

imagine

imagine that

for Jacob

to be secure

in future

it's very hard

he learned to cook

with the mom

but at that day and age

cooking

skill

for men

is really

not much of a use

you need to be outdoor

you need to be able to hunt

or plant

or

be a shepherd

of some sort

for Jacob

it is quite

hopeless

isn't it

in terms of

for his future

and that's how

we can feel for him

in terms of why

he wanted that

blessing so

desperately

and how did they know

about this blessing

it's just because

the blessing was initially

given to Abraham

their grandfather

Abraham

was still alive

during their birth

for 15

until they are 15 years

old

and Abraham died

so they would have

heard

from Abraham

and also their father

Isaac

about God's blessing

and promise

to this special family

that

God said that

they will be made

into a great nation

and through them

all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed

there's the

summary of the blessing

and this blessing

is being passed

from generation

to generation

just one person

though

just one person

in each generation

inherit this blessing

and that person

as they look at

Abraham and Isaac

will become rich

and strong

and that's why

Jacob wanted that

blessing

you notice that

God says that

all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed

it's quite interesting

to see that

God

didn't use

all the nations

of the earth

to be blessed

all the people

all the languages

but he said

all the families

why all the families

we can see

even in this family

now

looking at

Isaac

Rebecca

Esau and Jacob

as a family

we can see

why this family

really needs

that blessing

and why we

do as well

so in Genesis

so

sorry

Jacob had

two

obstacles

for him to

inherit the blessing

the first one

is the fact

that he wasn't

the firstborn

and

the inheritance

usually given

to the firstborn

first

the rest

would get a bit

of it

but

majority

will be given

to the firstborn

and the second

is the fact

that his father

loved Esau

more than

loving him

or more than him

Genesis 25

28

says that

Isaac

loved Esau

because he

acts of his game

but Rebecca

loved Jacob

Esau could be

disappointed in Jacob

because he had

wished that

Jacob would go out

hunting like a man

instead

Jacob

learned to cook

like a woman

we don't know why

but we don't know

why Isaac

had that feeling

but there's

a possibility

however

we can

we see that

Jacob is

a very smart man

he was able

to even make

use of his

cooking skill

to get

what he wanted

so as we saw

just now

he exchanged

Esau's birthright

with his stew

so he

somehow

got his

first obstacle

first problem

settled

at least

apparently

Isaac said

well you can

have my birthright

whether Isaac

made it

we don't know

I mean

when you're hungry

you can

you will say anything

and that's how

it works

and

this

today's story

we come to

the point

where

Jacob

trying to

solve his

second problem

that the

father

would not

give him

the blessing

because the

father

would not

like him

to start

with

so

at this

point

of the

story

we

come to

the part

when we

think about

partiality

when we

look at

the fact

that

Isaac

loved

Esau

Rebecca

loved

Jacob

and this

is

partiality

we

are all

we

all have

this

problem

we're

all

partial

people

in the

sense

that

nine

of

us

is

complete

unless

we're

in

Christ

but

we are

partial

in the

sense

that

because

we

all have

needs

unmet

needs

so

we

tend

to

favor

people

who

give

us

or

satisfy

our

needs

or

give

us

more

joy

so

that

is

very

natural

for us

to do

however

as

parents

one

of the

things

that

parents

would

learn

is

to

love

their

children

because

they

are

their

children

not

because

of

how

their

children

perform

or

how

their

children

meet

their

needs

if

the

parents

love

their

children

in a

partial

way

then

the

children

in turn

will

learn

to

love

their

parents

in a

partial

way

as

well

in

times

to

come

and

we

can

see

that

the

partiality

in

the

family

does

a lot

of

damage

to

the

child

both

the

child

who

is

partial

or

who

is

favored

and

the

child

who

are

not

favored

so

the

child

who

is

favored

would

usually

become

very

proud

and

careless

because

the

parents

would

do

now

and

it's

the

type

of

families

that

we

all

grew up

in

and

so

it's

very

relevant

for

God

to

say

that

through

Abraham's

offspring

all

families

of

will

be

blessed

so

we

know

that

it's

only

lateral

for

Isaac

wanting

to

pass

the

blessing

to

the

firstborn

regardless

of

who

he

loves

however

before

the birth

of the

twins

God

already

told

them

that

the

older

shall

serve

the

younger

so

that

is

when

Rebecca

had

the

twins

fighting

inside

she

was

in

much

trouble

and

God

told

them

about

this

already

but

Isaac

like the

rest of

the

family

did

not

take

God's

word

seriously

you

know

almost

none

of

them

took

God's

word

seriously

except

maybe

Esau

surprisingly

you

thought

that

Esau

was

a

rough

or

careless

man

in

the

sense

that

if

Esau

really

understood

what

God

meant

he

would

say

oh

you

want

to

be

the

first

one

go

ahead

I

would

rather

be

the

younger

one

because

God

said

that

the

older

should

serve

the

younger

so

why

on

earth

did

Jacob

want

to

be

the

older

if

God

already

said

that

the

older

shall

serve

the

younger

but

there

is

us

I

suppose

we

don't

listen

to

God

and

if

they

did

then

all

these

things

would

not

have

happened

but

then

in

here

we

need

to

consider

one

question

is

that

is

God

showing

partiality

in

choosing

the

younger

to

be

served

by

the

older

even

before

they

were

born

even

before

they

show

whether

they're

good

or

bad

nothing

before

they

were

born

God

already

said

that

is

there

a

partiality

we

will

consider

this

in

the

next

sermon

which

is

on

God

of

the

blessing

first

I

titled

the

sermon

God

of

blessing

I

the

saw

Jacob

being

a

smart

man

he

was

a

bit

reluctant

he

knew

that

it's

a

big

risk

if

he

did

nothing

at

least

he

could

stay

on

maybe

the

brother

would

talk

after

him

but

if

he

tried

to

get

the

blessing

and

fail

he

could

be

cast

out

of

the

family

he

could

lose

everything

and

so

he

thought

about

it

but

then

his

mom

reassured

him

that

it's

all

right

will

take

the

plan

whatever

happens

well

you

know

that

Jacob

there's

too

good

a

chance

not

to

take

up

and

that's

why

he

went

with

the

plan

and

Rebecca

prepared

three

things

for him

that

is

delicious

food

such as

Isaac

love

Esau's

garment

with Esau's

smell

and the

skin

of the

young

goat

which

she

killed

for

the

food

so

Isaac

was

old

he

had

blood

vision

his

eyes

were

most

affected

by

cataracts

he

thought

he

heard

Jacob's

voice

but

he

tasted

Esau's

food

and

he

felt

Esau's

hairy

hands

and

smell

Esau's

smell

so

after

Isaac

ate

and

drank

he

blessed

Jacob

as

we

read

from

verse

27

to

29

so

Jacob

came

near

and

kissed

him

and

Isaac

smelled

the smell

of his

garments

and

blessed

him

and

said

see

the smell

of my

son

is as

the smell

of a

field

that the

Lord

has

blessed

may

God

give

you

all

the

dew

of

heaven

and

of

the

fatness

of

the

earth

and

plenty

of

grain

and

wine

let

people

serve

you

and

nations

bow

down

to

you

be

lord

over

your

brothers

and

may

your

mother's

sons

bow

down

to

you

curse

be

everyone

who

cursed

you

and

blessed

be

everyone

who

blesses

you

so

there

are

three

things

Isaac

mentioned

there

are

three

things

in

particular

I

would

like

to

mention

in

these

three

verses

one

is

fragrance

smell

two

is

security

to do

with

harvest

number

three

is

significance

to do

with

honor

so

there's

fragrance

from

yang

we

learn

to

distinguish

what

frequency

like

what

frequency

and what

stent

different

people may

have

different

but at

least

for

each

of

us

there

are

smells

that we

like

and

smells

that

we

don't

like

and

we

associate

fragrance

with

love

cleanliness

purity

acceptance

warmth

and stench

with

danger

or decay

filth

something

that we

just

want to

avoid

and

we

all

use

or

we

not

all

most

of

us

can

use

perfume

to

promote

our

acceptance

by

others

which

is

a

very

profitable

business

in the

world

so

the

frequency

is very

important

in here

and

Isaac

blessed

Jacob

because

he

smelled

the

frequency

of food

and

Esau's

garment

and

so

while

Esau

not knowing

it

or

given

his

birthright

to

Jacob

now in

practice

Jacob

already

taken

up

this

Esau's

identity

to get

the

father's

acceptance

and the

blessing

and

inside

the

blessing

he

mentions

about

security

as

he

said

may

God

give

you

of

the

dew

of

heaven

and

the

fatness

of

the

earth

and

plenty

of

grain

and

wine

the

fact

that

Isaac

emphasized

this

in

the

blessing

tells

us

that

it

is

not

natural

to

have

good

harvest

from

our

labors

as

a

consequence

of

man's

rebellion

against

God

the

ground

became

infertile

in

Genesis

Genesis 3:17–19

chapter 3

verses

17 to

19

we read

and to

Adam

he said

because

you have

listened

to the

voice

of your

wife

and have

eaten

of the

three

of which

I

commended

you

you shall

not eat

of it

curse

is a

ground

because

of you

in pain

you shall

eat

of it

all the

days

of your

life

fawns

and

teasels

it shall

bring forth

to you

and you

shall eat

the plants

of the

field

by the

sweat of

your face

you shall

eat bread

till you

return to

the ground

for out of

it you were

taken for

your dust

and to

dust you

shall return

out of

your

people

and you

will

know

life is

difficult

we

invest

our

life

in our

time

for

a

secure

future

we spend

time and

energy

in education

occupation

or next

generation

and many

a time

we do not

get

much fruit

from our

labor

years

Jacob

spent his

time learning

how to

cook

there was

no

restaurant

then

and so

Jacob's

scale was

not going

to be

of much

use for

him to

provide for

himself

and for

his own

family

so he

desperately

lead to

this blessing

of God

for his own

survival

in years

to come

in the

story

did Jacob

become secure

at the end

in a way

he did

but only

through

much

hardship

he didn't

get it

quite

very easily

and then

there's

seven years

of famine

and he

lost a

lot of

things

it's only

through his

son Joseph

that he

already got

security

in

provided him

in Egypt

that was

before he

died

okay

so the

next one

in the

blessing is

about

significance

as Isaac

said

let people

serve you

and nations

bow down

to you

be lord

over your

brothers and

your mother's

sons

bow down

to you

curse be

everyone who

curses you

and blessed

be everyone

who blesses

you

so the

two things

that

Jacob

would

need

most of

all of us

would need

security

and significance

so the

blessing

of

this

promise

that

the

significant

in him

been

honored

by

everyone

Jacob

wished that

his father

would approve

him

he wished

that Isaac

would tell

him

well done

my son

I think

that's what

he was

longing for

he also

wished that

his brother

Esau

would take

him seriously

and

respected him

so he

wanted to

prove himself

to be worthy

of honor

but what

could he

do

he

hasn't

spent much

time

outdoor

he didn't

know

how to

do

outdoor

work

and

learning how

to cook

would bring

Jacob

more

dishonor

than honor

at that

time

people

know

how to

cook

it's a

woman's

job

why

it's

an honor

and so

for Jacob

not only

security

he needs

significance

he needs

respect

but did

he get

it at

the end

in a

way

he's

also

in a

way

he did

but

as we

read the

story

even his

own

family

his own

children

didn't

respect

him

much

until

Joseph

his son

became

the

prime

minister

of

Egypt

and

then

took

him

to

Egypt

and

Jacob

met

with

the

Egyptian

Pharaoh

and

blessed

this

king

of

Egypt

imagine

being able

to bless

the most

powerful

man in

the world

at that

time

so

it is

quite a

significant

thing

that he

did

in life

so

while

those

promises

of blessing

didn't

actually

come

true

as

Jacob

thought

it would

be

but

in

some

way

he

did

get

some

of it

fulfilled

in

his

life

but

a lot

of it

need

to be

fulfilled

much

later

not

during

his

lifetime

so

when

Esau

knew

about

this

Jacob's

deception

he

became

very

angry

and

he

wanted

to

kill

Jacob

but

at

least

Esau

respected

the

father

so

he

said

I

won't

kill

Jacob

until

our

father

Isaac

died

and

when

Rebecca

knew

about

this

plan

Rebecca

devised

another

plan

so

he

requested

Isaac

to send

Jacob

to their

home

country

to get

a wife

the home

country

means that

both

Isaac

and

Rebecca

came from

that area

Abraham

came first

from the

area

and then

Abraham's

servant

went back

there to

get

Rebecca

and so

Isaac

and

Rebecca

got

married

and now

Rebecca

asked

Isaac

to send

Jacob

back

to

Haram

where

they

came

from

and

to

their

uncle's

place

and

well

Isaac

agreed

and so

Jacob

left

in a hurry

I suppose

we will

continue

the story

next week

but

Jacob

did not

know

that

he

would

become

stuck

in his

uncle's

place

for 20

years

after

he left

and

during

these

20

years

Jacob

went

through

a lot

of

suffering

we will

read that

if you

got chance

in future

he actually

talked about

his suffering

at the end

when his

uncle was

chasing

after him

meanwhile

over

the 20

years

Esau

became

quite a

strong

and wealthy

family

wealthy

clan

so

it's

quite

paradoxical

in a

sense

that

the

blessing

that

Esau

didn't

get

for

Esau

to

develop

into

a

very

powerful

family

strong

family

while

Jacob

was

suffering

and

also

Rebecca

I suppose

she suffered

as well

because

she never

saw

Jacob

again

since

then

I

couldn't

imagine

how hard

it would

be

for

them

to

be

apart

and

Rebecca

died

and

Jacob

didn't

even

know

that