Faith & The Ultimate Blessing
Hebrews 11:20 | Genesis 27:1-13, 18-29
Main Idea: The life of faith embraces God’s sovereign work of blessing the undeserving and redeeming the unlikely.
I. The Unlikely Blessing
Isaac & Rebekah experienced infertility just like Abraham & Sarah, but after 20 years the Lord grants them their desire for children. The promises given to Abraham (Genesis 12:3) run through the line of Isaac, the promised child.
Genesis 25:23: And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
God is breaking the customary pattern and privileges of the firstborn son in this society. God often works in unlikely ways with unlikely people, turning upside down the values and standards of the world.
1 Corinthians 1:26–29: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
“If we were designing a movement to take over the world and claim dominion over the universe, you would not come up with Christianity… the beauty of the gospel is that you don't have to be great to wield its power… It actually helps if you’re not great. Because the gospel’s greatness is enough.” ~ Jared Wilson
II. The Undeserved Blessing
God’s choosing & working in this family was not only unlikely; they are also completely undeserving. Every figure in this dysfunctional family has their own contribution to this story:
Isaac: shows favoritism toward Esau (Gen. 25:27-28), is driven by his cravings, desiring to give Esau the blessing instead of Jacob
Esau: flippantly already “sold” his birthright for stew (Gen. 25:29-34), shirking responsibility to lead his people
Rebekah: shows favoritism toward Jacob & is the mastermind behind this deceptive plan
Jacob: name literally means “heel-grabber” & deceiver; his life is marked by behavior just like this story
“Fulfilling God’s plans is a family of faith and failure: Isaac who depends on his fallible senses and lacks resoluteness, Rebekah who acts by domination and deception, and Jacob who deceives and blasphemously lies. This is a message of hope for the church, for the irruption of the kingdom of God ultimately depends on God’s sovereign grace, not on human faithfulness. God’s promise of hope overrides all of this failure, ultimately using these fallible people to accomplish his good work.” ~ Bruce Waltke
The ‘blessing’ at the center of this story is more than just “well-wishes;” this fatherly blessing (lit. ‘eulogize’) had to do with the trajectory and destiny of their future. Isaac’s actions here are ultimately “by faith” (Heb. 11:20) because he trusts & yields to the promises of God for the future (Gen. 27:33).
III. The Ultimate Blessing
What does this story of faith in “future blessings” mean for us today as we seek to endure by faith? Two implications:
1. Our deepest desire for blessing has been offered to us in Jesus Christ, to be received by faith
We all crave the blessing and approval that is sought after in this story, but we often go about it in the wrong way. We either presume upon it (Esau), or we dress up like someone else, manipulate, and try to take control of what God has already promised (Rebekah & Jacob).
The life of faith comes just as we are to Jesus, the “firstborn” of all creation, who took on the curse of sin in our place (Gal. 3:13) so we might be blessed by his grace & mercy.
Romans 8:15–17: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
2. Our future blessings in Christ ought to produce present faithfulness and endurance
The content of the “future blessing” to Jacob (Gen. 27:27-29) included provision, power, and honor. The banquet table of the lamb awaits us in the future, where there will be no more sin, death, suffering, and we will commune with the Lord “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12).
