January 2006 Bible
Tuesday, January 24th - Genesis 27: 30-32
Jacob, the liar, has left
his father with the blessing that Isaac had pronounced upon him. Now
Esau, the son who obeyed rather than deceived his father, returns and speaks
the truth. Clearly the blessing of our salvation comes to us not on the
basis of our merit or worthiness. Our contribution to it is our sinful
corruption issuing in a flood of transgressions, from which our Lord has saved
us.
Wednesday, January 25th - Genesis
27: 31, 32
Esau approaches his
father, having truly accomplished all that his father had asked of him, and
speaks to Isaac in essentially the same words that Jacob had used in v.19.
The blessing of our salvation comes upon us due neither to our personal
worthiness, nor to our personal works, nor to the words that we speak.
Formal accuracy of a man’s profession of faith cannot save him. Many in
the last day will hail Jesus, saying: Lord,
Lord. Yet they will be told by
Christ that He never knew them and that they who are workers of iniquity must
depart from Him to inhabit a cursed eternity. May it truly be that, by
sovereign divine grace, we have authority to be called sons of God (Jn.
Thursday, January 26th - Genesis
27: 32, 33
Esau declares himself to
be Isaac’s first-born son, and Isaac needs no further convincing as to the
identity of his elder son. With Esau’s words of truth, the light comes to
Isaac’s dim eyes, and he trembles. The patriarch shakes not in fury over
Jacob’s deceit, but in fear at the realization that he had been prevented, by
God’s having sinlessly overruled Jacob’s sinful deceit, from disobeying the
Lord in a sinfully doting determination to bestow His blessing upon the man not
of the Lord’s choosing. Isaac accepts this chastising realization when he
declares that his blessing will stick with Jacob, and not be considered void on
account of Jacob’s deceit. The righteous will tremble with grief, shame,
conviction, and gratitude, when they realize that the Lord prevents them from
sinning against Him. The wicked do not tremble even when they are riding
high in a career of great sins.
Friday, January 27th - Genesis 27:
34, 35
Esau refuses to respect
and accept that, despite Jacob’s sinful deceit, the blessing of God had been
conferred rightly upon Jacob in accordance with the Word of God (Gen. 25:23).
He also refuses to accept that whereas God is infinite He is also discriminate
in the giving of his blessings. Therefore, Esau begs for another blessing
from Isaac. When Isaac answers that Jacob came deceitfully, he
acknowledges that the younger son resorted to sinful measures in obtaining the
blessing. When Isaac says that Jacob had taken away Esau’s blessing, he
acknowledges that he himself had been disposed in defiance of God’s Word to
give the blessing to Esau, rather than to Jacob. Yet, Isaac does not say
that he can and will retract the blessing or give to Esau a similar, still less
a superior, blessing. The blessing of salvation is reserved only for
those whom the Lord has chosen in redeeming love (Eph. 1:4,5). It is the
supreme blessing in comparison with which all other portions are regarded as
curses.
Saturday, January 28th - Genesis
27: 36, 37
These verses present the
vastly different ways in which Esau and Isaac viewed Jacob. To Esau, his
brother was a repeated supplanter who took his birthright; yet in truth Jacob
valued the birthright that Esau despised. Esau says that Jacob took away
his blessing; yet it was God who reserved the blessing for Jacob (Gen.
25:23). Esau never had a right to
it. Esau’s sinful conceit prompted him to view Jacob in such bad
light. Far differently does Isaac behold his younger son. While the
father acknowledges the deception of his son, he also acknowledges him as being
confirmed in the blessing of God. The blessing he had conferred upon
Jacob was objective and substantial; its giving was irrevocable, for the source
of the blessing was the electing and redeeming purpose of the Lord, whose
calling and gifts are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). Here is Isaac’s faith,
gaining ascendance over his soul-dulling sinfulness, and rightly perceiving
that he who was a sinner when he received the blessing of God would be
transformed into a righteous soul who would triumph and reign as more than a
conqueror (Heb. 11:20).
Sunday, January 29th - Genesis 27:
38
Esau wept over the fact
that the blessing of God had been irrevocably given to Jacob. He cries to
Isaac for another blessing, but no blessing is to be had apart from the
blessing of God. Therefore, Esau continues to weep. His sorrow is
not of a godly sort, that leads to repentance, but is rather a manifestation of
godless remorse (Heb.
Monday, January 30th - Genesis 27:
38-40
Esau cries for blessing to
come upon him through the agency of his father’s pronouncement. What he
receives are words of veritable cursing from his father. He is doomed to
life in desert places and to perpetual fighting. There will be no peace
or prosperity for Esau or for his descendants. Yet in all of his marital
endeavor, he will not be able to escape being a servant to Jacob and his
descendants. Esau should have been submissively resigned to his lack of
blessing, rather than pressing his father into uttering such words of cursing
upon him and his people. Yet, between the blessing and the cursing of God
no other option exists. He who does not have the blessing must have the
cursing.
Tuesday, January 31st - Genesis 27:
39, 40
The blessing of God
descending upon all pertaining to Jacob is the blessing Isaac gave to his
younger son (vv. 27-29). As God was not in the thoughts or heart of Esau,
so the pronouncement his father makes respecting him shows no hand of God at
work for him, but the hand of the Lord is clearly set against Esau. He
who lives in alienation from God would live in alienation from any blessing
from earth or heaven. He who is at war with God will know no peace with
his fellow man. He who will not serve his infinitely superior God will be
forced to serve his younger brother, whom he deemed inferior to himself.
Accordingly, Esau settled in the Arabah region south and east of
Wednesday, February 1st - Genesis
27: 39, 40
Isaac pronounces a divine
curse upon Esau and his descendants because Esau was cursing Jacob, who was his
brother and the chosen and blessed man of God. Part of the Lord’s
blessing upon Jacob and his descendants was that those who cursed them would be
cursed by God (Gen. 27:29). This blessing belongs to all spiritual children
of Jacob. The wicked of the world curse the Lord’s anointed and all in
Him to their own hurt and destruction (Ps. 2). Haman, a descendant of
Esau, cursed the Jews and was hanged on his own gallows for it (Esther
Thursday, February 2nd - Genesis
27: 41
Esau regarded Jacob not
only as a swindler, but also as a man deserving death. Esau, who did not
desire but despised his birthright, and who never had a rightful claim to the
blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob, however irregularly that blessing had been
conferred, had no just cause to be angry with his brother, and still less cause
to determine to murder him. Sin makes all men irrationally angry and
destructive. Thankfully, God saves us from sin and from the ire of
sinners.
Saturday, February 4th - Genesis 27: 42-45 Wednesday, February 8th - Genesis 28:
1-5 These verses make clear to us how greatly Isaac recovered from
his spiritual blindness and sinful dotage over Esau. The patriarch takes the same care to ensure
his son’s domestic happiness and spiritual vitality as his own father, Abraham,
had taken with him. He then showers on
Jacob blessing upon blessing. The son
who had been for years overlooked by Isaac has now become his favorite
son. The blessing of God had made this
son beautiful in his father’s eyes, just as the blessing of the Lord does not
discover but deposits beauty in us. Thursday, February 9th - Genesis 28: 1,
2 This
is a good and blessed charge that Isaac gives to Jacob. It issues from his own godly and blessed
experience and example. The charge
contains a negative component: Jacob is
not to united himself with the godless daughters of Friday, February 10th – Genesis 28: 3,
4 In these verses, Isaac adds manifold blessing to the initial
blessing he had given to Jacob and to the charge he had given to his blessed
son regarding his marriage. This is the
way it is with the blessing of sovereign and saving divine grace. Within the one blessing of our redemption we
have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Saturday, February 11th - Genesis 28: 3 Isaac
invokes a personal blessing upon Jacob. He
asks that nothing less than the blessing of the God of all majestic power would
be upon him. If such a God would be for
Jacob, who could stand prevailingly against him? If such a God is for us in Christ, who can be
against us (Rom. Sunday, February 12th - Genesis 28: 3 Isaac also pronounces a corporate blessing upon Jacob. He who was the younger son of the patriarch,
and had been favored throughout his life not by his father, but by his mother;
he who was a mild, contemplative man with no wife, while his older brother had
two wives, is here by the blessing of the power of Almighty God made not only
sure of his finding a wife, but also sure of his fathering a great many
children and a vast multitude of descendants.
It is the blessing of God that calls into being that which previously
did not exist, as we shall see in Jacob’s life in Monday, February 13th – Genesis 28: 4 The blessing Isaac invokes upon Jacob traces its source to the
covenant of salvation that God established with Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant contains a promise
from the Lord not only that those within it would have fruitful and abundant
descendants, but supremely that their children would know the Lord to be their
God (Gen. 17:7). Therefore, this
component of Isaac’s blessing conveys to Jacob and his descendants the promise
of redemption from their sins, adoption by and communion with the living God,
and eternal life in the glory of heaven with the Lord. Tuesday, February 14th - Genesis 28: 4 The blessing of Isaac represents a ratification of the
Abrahamic covenant and a specific application of it to Jacob. As such, Jacob is promised not only numerous
living descendants, but also the Wednesday, February 15th - Genesis 28: 5 From vv. 1-5 we see how Isaac, the father, is entirely active
in charging, directing, blessing, and sending his son, Jacob. We also note that for Jacob’s part there was
no speaking, asking, or acting in any manner calculated to acquire
blessing. Jacob only hears, receives,
and obeys the words of direction and blessing pronounced by his father. He whose name meant supplanter certainly is
not acting that part any longer. Jacob
need not fearfully grasp for his blessing; he has begun to enter into the
possession and enjoyment of his true spiritual inheritance. Neither need we be fearful graspers after the
things of this world, knowing that we shall inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5). Thursday, February 16th - Genesis 28: 5,
7 After all of Isaac’s words of charging and blessing, Jacob is
sent away from the Promised Land. It may
seem that this action belies the words of the blessing that Jacob should
possess the land. In action, if not in
word, it appears that Jacob is the cursed one, while Esau, who remains in Friday, February 17th - Genesis 28:
6-9 In these verses, the reprobate character of Esau is
unmistakenly manifested. He knows of his
Father’s charge to Jacob regarding whom he should marry, and he, accordingly,
with a determined perversity marries a third wife outside of the covenantal line. Hereby Esau does what is forbidden and
multiplies the misery his wives would cause his godly parents. Neither Isaac nor Rebekah made Esau this way. Nor did Jacob or Jacob’s God plant or foster
this wicked character in Esau. The Lord
did sovereignly withhold his saving grace from Esau to the glory of His divine
and holy justice. For we see that
although Esau was raised in a covenant family, and was allowed to remain in the
Promised Land amidst his godly family, while Jacob was sent away from both, still
Esau pursued nothing but sinful relationships and goals. The sinner’s worst enemy is himself, and
rightly do all sinners deserve the just condemnation of God. Saturday, February 18th - Genesis 28:
5-9 Jacob is sent away while Esau is left with free run of the
Promised Land. How can Jacob be expected
to possess the land when he has been sent away from it? The answer is two-fold: 1) he
already has title to the land by the covenant blessing and promise of God;
2) he will one day, by God’s leading and
enabling, return to dwell in the land, receiving it as a gift from the Lord and
not as a result of his own scheming and grabbing. Read Psalm 73 to see there expressed this
same tension in which a believer lives by his having title to all things in Christ
(Mt. 5:5), while awaiting his full possession of all things. Sunday, February 19th – Genesis 28:
10-15 As Jacob obediently left his father, mother, and home in Monday, February 20th - Genesis 28:
10, 11 These verses detail the beginning of
Jacob’s journey. They inform us that he
went from
Tuesday, February 21st – Genesis 28:
11, 12 The place referred to in these verses later was named Wednesday, February 22nd - Genesis 28: 12 Jacob dreamed amidst his weary night of comfortless sleep. We may wonder why God revealed this vision to
him in a dream. The Lord usually
revealed matters through dreams to men whose waking lives were clouded by weak
faith and manifold distractions. To such
faithful ones as Moses, for example, the Lord spoke face to face (Ex.
33:11). Jacob’s life surely was a blur
of many distractions, and his faith was far from pure and strong. Yet, the Lord spoke to him in a manner best
suited to convey to him—and through him to us—the encouraging truth that He was
richly ministering to His chosen man, even when that man appeared to the eyes
of flesh to be cut off from all protection, provision, and comfort, and that He
was doing so not while Jacob schemed or supplanted, but while he slept (Ps.
91:4-12). Thursday, February 23rd - Genesis 28: 12 The vision of the ladder bridging
heaven and earth and heavily traveled by ministering angels reveals to Jacob and
to us the communication that exists between the believer on earth and the Lord
in heaven—a communication apprehended not by waking sight, but by faith, that
would have us rely not on our eyes or our own understanding (Prov. 3:5,6). The angels ascending may be considered as
messengers to God, conveying our prayers and needs, while those descending may
be considered messengers laden with enabling grace and blessings for us. It is a picture that illustrates the sublime
truth that for the believer, greater are those heavenly hosts that are with us,
who serve for our good and our Lord’s glory, than are any beings or
circumstances that may be arrayed against us.
Friday, February 3rd - Genesis 27:
42-45
These verses detail
Jacob’s escape from Esau’s murderous determination. Jacob’s disguise had
served to deceive blind, doting Isaac into giving him the blessing.
However, the blessing of God upon Jacob seemed initially to be more of a
curse. It prompted Esau to curse him and determine to kill him. Far
from Jacob’s brother bowing to serve him, as the blessing foretold, Esau was
bent on slaying Jacob. Thus, it appeared that the first thing issuing
from the blessing of God upon Jacob was that his life was placed in mortal
danger. The blessing of God always evokes the curses of men. All
who, by the blessing of God’s sanctifying grace, desire to live godly lives in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim.
Esau’s murderous hatred
formed Jacob’s danger. Yet, the Lord ordained that Jacob should discover
his danger and take steps that led to his safety. The chosen instrument
of Jacob’s discovery was once again his mother, Rebekah. Though Jacob’s
father’s eyes were dim, his mother’s ears were keen. As she had overheard
Isaac’s plans to bless Esau in defiance of the Word and will of God, so here
she learns of Esau’s threatening words. The Lord saw to it that she who
had learned of Isaac’s sinful plan and who took action with Jacob to frustrate
that plan, would hear of Esau’s murderous plan. For the Lord knew she
would act on the information, this time in a way to save Jacob’s life and to save
Esau from sinful murder. Thus, the latter service of Rebekah would be
more righteous and redeeming than her former action had been. It is to
the glory of God’s saving grace that she should have been assigned such
service.
Sunday, February 5th - Genesis 27:
42-45
Rebekah, having discovered
the threat to Jacob, goes on to disclose it to him. To her disclosure she
adds directives as she had done when she orchestrated Jacob’s deception of
Isaac. Her words appear to partake of the character of the curse that Isaac
pronounced upon Esau (vv.39,40). Instead of Esau being the castaway from
blessing, Jacob is made a fugitive by his mother’s counsel. Such fearful
flight, however, is the necessary consequence of the sinful way by which Jacob
got his blessing from Isaac. Yet, where sin increases, grace abounds all
the more. It will be in the far country that the Lord will humble Jacob
and bless him with wives and children, until Jacob would return to
Monday, February 6th - Genesis 27:
44, 45
Here we see how greatly
Rebekah underestimates the length of time that Jacob would be away from
her. It is not necessarily true that she underestimates the duration of
Esau’s anger, for when Jacob finally does return to
Tuesday, February 7th - Genesis 27:
46
In this verse, Rebekah
speaks the truth (Gen. 26:34,35), but she appears to use this truth as a guise
for her ploy to help Jacob escape from Esau’s murderous hatred. Yet, Rebekah’s
cry to Jacob surely is not all ploy. She does state a painful truth of
which both she and Isaac had painful experience. She further states the
godly principle that believers should be equally yoked in the Lord.
Finally, she leaves the solution to Isaac, who now sees better spiritually,
having placed God’s blessing on the right son and having stood by the
conferral, however irregularly it had been accomplished. Rebekah appears
to trust her husband, who had himself benefited from a godly marriage, to
decide rightly regarding Jacob’s future. Therefore, this verse apparently
marks a turning point for this holy family, where domestic harmony and
agreement return to some degree. The blessing of God, having rightly been
bestowed upon the man of God’s choice, begins to bless those who served to
bless Jacob.