JANUARY 22.—MORNING. [Or February 12.] “A righteous man hateth lying.”

GENESIS 27:1–5; 17–29

AND it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
2, 3, 4 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
When Rebekah heard this she determined to obtain the blessing for her favourite son Jacob by a crafty stratagem. She prepared two kids of goats in a savoury manner, dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes, put skins upon his hands and neck that he might appear to be hairy like his brother, and sent him in to deceive his father.
17, 18 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. (When we begin to sin we go from bad to worse. It was base enough of Jacob to utter so many falsehoods, but to bring in the Lord God of his father to give them the appearance of truth, was much worse.)
21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? and he said, I am. (Thus Jacob persisted in his falsehood. This narrative shows us the truthfulness of God’s word, since it does not conceal the faults of its most eminent saints. Had the Old Testament been a cunningly devised fable, it would never have exhibited the great progenitor of the twelve tribes in so sorry a light.)
25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. (Isaac did not seek counsel of the Lord, hence his mistake. By this he was punished for his ill-placed partiality to Esau, for it was very unworthy of the patriarch to prefer his profanc son “because he did eat of his venison.”)
26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
Thus the prophecy concerning Esau and Jacob was repeated with enlargements, “the elder shall serve the younger.” God’s purpose was accomplished, but this did not excuse Rebekah and Jacob, or screen them from the chastisements of God, which commenced at once. We ought never to do evil that good may come.

  Father, to that first-born of thine
     Thou hast the blessing given,
  The power, and dignity divine,
     Th’ inheritance of heaven.

  O how shall I the younger son,
     The Elder’s right obtain?
  I’ll put my Brother’s raiment on,
     And thus the blessing gain.

  Father, I joyfully believe
     Thou art well pleased with me;
  Thou dost at my approach perceive
     A heavenly fragrancy.

  Thou dost thy gracious will declare,
     Thou dost delight to bless;
  And why? My Brother’s garb I wear,
     My Saviour’s righteousness.

Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 43). Baker Book House.

JANUARY 21.—MORNING. [Or February 10.] “He giveth not account of any of his matters.”

WE omit some of the minor details of the history as contained in Genesis, and pass on to the birth of Isaac’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Let us see how the New Testament explains the Old. We shall read

ROMANS 9:1–13

In this chapter the apostle illustrates the doctrine of election by the history of the households of Abraham and Isaac, in which the will of the Lord made differences irrespective of merit. Here he brings us into a great deep; but if we only wish to know what God reveals and no more, we may safely follow where Scripture leads. Election is not a fit subject for idle curiosity, neither is it to be passed over in neglect, for whatever is taught us in the Word is profitable for some gracious purpose.
1, 2, 3 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Paul did not write as he did because he hated the nation to which he belonged. Far from it. He would have sacrificed everything for their good; and he felt almost ready to be cast away himself, if by such a fate he could have rescued the Jewish people. Passionate love speaks a language which must not be weighed in the balances of cold reasoning. View the words as the outburst of a loving heart, and they are clear enough. O that all Christians had a like love for perishing sinners.
4, 5 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Paul pauses to adore the Lord whom he loved. Let us bow our heads and worship also.
6, 7 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Here was a difference made according to the divine will. God has a right to dispense his favours as he pleases, and it is not for us either to censure his actions or ask an account of them.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
God passed by Esau, and gave Jacob the covenant blessing. This is a fact to be believed, and not to be made a matter for human judgment. Who are we that we should summon Jehovah to our bar? God is righteous in all his ways. We find that Esau despised his birthright, and sold it for a mess of pottage, and so by his actions abundantly justified, as well as fulfilled, the purpose of God.
How it ought to humble us when we remember that we have no claims upon God. If he should leave us to go on in sin and perish, we have no right to complain, for we deserve it. How earnestly and humbly should we implore him to look upon us in mercy, and save us with his great salvation. “Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out,” is the voice of Jesus, and whether we see it or not, it is quite consistent with the predestination taught in this chapter. The Lord has a chosen people, and yet his gospel is to be preached to every creature. Believe, but do not cavil. When we believe on the Lord Jesus, we are in the way to make our calling and election sure. Only by faith can we be assured that the Lord has called and chosen us.

  ’Tis not that I did choose thee,
     For, Lord, that could not be;
  This heart would still refuse thee,
     But thou hast chosen me:

  Thou from the sin that stain’d me
     Wash’d me and set me free,
  And to this end ordain’d me,
     That I should live to thee.

Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 41). Baker Book House.

The Blessing of God’s Promises | Tabletalk

The Blessing of God’s Promises

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau (Heb. 11:20).

Things are not always what they appear to be. Sometimes events we do not believe to be blessings from God actually turn out to be, and often the way God chooses to bring about His blessings is anything but predictable. In Hebrews 11:20, Isaac pronounces “blessings” on Jacob and Esau. We are immediately struck with a sense of irony, if not bewilderment, at this language. For we know that Esau is the rejected son who does not inherit the blessing from Isaac—Jacob does. So, in what way was Esau blessed by Isaac?

When we examine the Old Testament chapter to which the author of Hebrews is referring (Gen. 27), we find Isaac on his deathbed, his eyes old and dim with age. His wife, Rebekah, has conspired against him with a plan to ensure that Isaac does not bestow his patriarchal blessing upon Esau. From a natural point of view, Esau should have received the blessing. He was the oldest son, and the normal course of the world would expect that the oldest son should receive the blessing and carry on the family name, business, property, etc. But God’s ways are often different, and as the familiar story goes, God had rejected Esau and chosen Jacob even before the twin boys wrestled their way out of the womb (Gen. 25:23). Though Esau was older, in God’s sovereign and electing purposes, Jacob was the chosen, favored one and thus “the older shall serve the younger.”

By the time we find Isaac on his deathbed in Genesis 27, it would seem that he has forgotten what God promised, for he calls for Esau with the apparent intent of bestowing upon him the blessing that God had said would fall on Jacob. Lest we be too hard on Rebekah, it would appear that her conspiracy was an attempt (however ill-conceived) to ensure that Isaac, in his failing state, did not mistakenly bless the wrong son. Thus, in a nearly comical display of costuming, she has Jacob dress up like Esau and attempt to fool Isaac into giving Jacob Esau’s blessing. Where would the long history of church plays and Sunday school lessons be without this comedic episode?

The promises of God are unbroken and unbreakable.

Because God is sovereign and gracious, the plan works, in spite of Rebekah and Jacob’s treachery and Isaac’s forgetfulness. It really is hard to believe that this dysfunctional family is the “chosen people.” A father who forgets the words of God, a wife and son who conspire to fool her husband and his dad, and another son who is willing to reject God and kill his brother. This is the family of God? Yes it is, and in spite of its many blemishes and imperfections, God still bestows his blessing upon them—even Esau. However, we should be clear that “blessing” here is not to be understood in the sense of salvation but in the general sense of “promise.” Through Isaac, God was promising both to Jacob and to Esau future things: in the case of Jacob, God bestowed the covenant promise descending from Abraham that would lead to Christ; in the case of Esau, the promise was bestowed of what his life would be like “away from the dew of heaven on high” (Gen. 27:39).

Thus, to be clear, Esau is rejected from being Isaac’s heir. He also would appear to be rejected from the hope of heaven (Rom. 9:10–13). Yet Esau would still live to see old age. From him would descend a nation (the Edomites). Esau would even live to see a day in which he and Jacob would enjoy the gift of brotherly reconciliation (Gen. 33), though there would certainly be longstanding tensions between their descendants. God’s promises are a sure and reliable thing—the most reliable thing in this world.

It was on these promises of God that the people of God were to depend in Hebrews 11, and the same promises that we are to depend on today. Hebrews 11, as is clearly displayed in the family of Isaac, is not a portrait of really great people. To the contrary, it holds out hope that God might not only bless but even use a rather imperfect family in His sovereign plan to bring His Son into the world and to save an undeserving people for Himself. Hebrews 11 catalogs a family of faith—a broken one. But the promises of God are unbroken and unbreakable. What He speaks, He brings to pass; what He promises, He delivers. The family of Isaac, broken as it was, would still live to tell of the ways in which God had fulfilled His word and saved a people for Himself.

We stand on their shoulders as the broken yet hopeful people of God. With them, we too can acknowledge that we are an imperfect people with imperfect families. Our faith waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon. But our God is faithful and His Word is reliable. As He has fulfilled His promises to His people in the past (often by overruling their best-made plans), so He continues to rule over us even now by His Word and Spirit. God wrote the story of His covenant people with an end in view—an eschatological promise that would find its fulfillment only in Christ. Apart from us, the people of old listed in Hebrews 11 do not embrace the perfected realization of God’s covenant promises, but apart from them neither do we (v. 40). In a beautiful sense, we are a part of that same covenant family to which God made and continues to keep His promises. An imperfect family we certainly are, but we are the family of God nonetheless, and our great privilege is to trust God at His Word and follow Him as we make our way through this world to our everlasting inheritance—our future blessing.

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on faith and was previously published November 23, 2018. Previous post. Next post.

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13 october (preached 16 january 1859) | Jacob and Esau

“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9:13

suggested further reading: Ezekiel 33:11–20

My soul revolts at the idea of a doctrine that lays the blood of man’s soul at God’s door. I cannot conceive how any human mind, at least any Christian mind, can hold any such blasphemy as that. I delight to preach this blessed truth—salvation of God, from first to last—the Alpha and the Omega; but when I come to preach damnation, I say, damnation is of man, not of God; and if you perish, at your own hands must your blood be required. There is another passage. At the last great day, when all the world shall come before Jesus to be judged, have you noticed, when the righteous go on the right side, Jesus says, “Come, ye blessed of my Father,”—(“of my Father,” mark,)—“inherit the kingdom prepared”—(mark the next word)—“for you, from before the foundation of the world.” What does he say to those on the left? “Depart, ye cursed.” He does not say, “ye cursed of my Father,” but, “ye cursed.” And what else does he say? “into everlasting fire, prepared”—(not for you, but)—“for the devil and his angels.” Do you see how it is guarded. Here is the salvation side of the question. It is all of God. “Come, ye blessed of my Father.” It is a kingdom prepared for them. There you have election, free grace in all its length and breadth. But, on the other hand, you have nothing said about the Father—nothing about that at all. “Depart, ye cursed.” Even the flames are said not to be prepared for sinners, but for the devil and his angels. There is no language that I can possibly conceive that could more forcibly express this idea, supposing it to be the mind of the Holy Spirit, that the glory should be to God, and that the blame should be laid at man’s door.

for meditation: The love of God towards a sinful Jacob should surprise us more than the hatred of God towards a sinful Esau.

sermon no. 239¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 293). Day One Publications.

September 29 Daily Devotional: Rebuilding Is Not Always Wise

Malachi 1:1–2:9; Acts 27:1–44; Job 31:9–22

Who can rebuild what Yahweh tears down? The prophets articulate this message again and again. Yahweh tears down evil things; evil people rebuild them; the prophets insist that He will just tear them down again. God tolerates evil for a time, waiting for people to repent, but when His patience is up, it’s up.

“ ‘I have loved you,’ says Yahweh, but you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?’ declares Yahweh. ‘I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.’ If Edom says, ‘We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,’ Yahweh of hosts says this: ‘They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.’ Your eyes will see this, and you will say, ‘Yahweh is great beyond the borders of Israel’ ” (Mal 1:2–5).

This scene seems brutal upon first reading. If you’re on Jacob’s side, you’re fine—Yahweh loves you even though you don’t acknowledge it. But if you’re on Esau’s (Edom’s) side, you’re left wondering why God hates you so much—unless you know the backstory: Edom ravaged the lands of God’s people and committed atrocities against them in their greatest time of need. When foreign nations invaded Israel, Edom preyed on its brothers instead of coming to their defense. This is the reason for Yahweh’s anger—and why He will tear down whatever Edom builds.

How often do we try to excuse ourselves as Edom did—to defend our behavior as justifiable retribution for previous offenses? What does God think about the state of our hearts and the actions we take against others as a result?

How must your plan of action change, today, in light of God’s will and His standard?

John D. Barry¹

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¹  Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Lexham Press.