#14 Gen 27:1-29 A Mess of Pottage

The Bible teaches us to pass the faith on to the next generation. In Psalm 78 God established a
testimony and a law, "which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known
to their children; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which
should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their
hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments."

God has done many great things; the Bible is filled with them. So we need to teach our
children the Bible stories, which are not mere "stories," by the way, but true stories. Yet we
should not teach them only because they are "cute" stories of something that happened in the
past, but because they show us how people are, how faith works, and especially how God
deals with men. When we teach the Bible history, it should not be a mere commemoration of
past events, like the story of George Washington or the Civil War or World War II. It is living
history, you might say, because the things in the Bible were not written just for people of those
ancient times. St. Paul writes, 1Co10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for
ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come."

The Bible teaches us to "train up a child in the way he should go," so that "when he is old he
will not depart from it." There is no way on earth that you or I can make our children
Christians, or make them to be faithful once they are. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. All we
can do is to teach them God's word, set them a good example, and pray for them, and then we
must leave it to God. You cannot all their lives stand by them and hold their hand nor keep
them from temptation. After you teach them to know the Lord, you must leave them to God to
care for, praying fervently for them. As Paul told the Ephesians, "Now, brethren, I commend
you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you na
inheritance among all them which are sanctified." As it is a great privilege to serve in the holy
ministry, it is also a great privilege to be a Christian parent, the instrument through which God
brings His grace and the means of grace to our children. Were they born of others, they might
not know the Lord at all.

It sometimes happens that children of the godly do not accept or keep the faith, but make
shipwreck of it, as Cain did, and Absalom, and whole generations in the days of the judges, for
it says, "All that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another
generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for
Israel." But as God did not discard that generation, but visited them with the scourge of
affliction to bring them to repentance, and with judges to deliver them, so we must not give up
on our children when they stray, but must gently admonish them as we are able and pray
zealously for them. The children should in turn be zealous to follow the teachings they
received in faith and love. Children who go astray often make the excuse that their parents did
them wrong; therefore they are justified in forsaking the faith. Maybe their parents did do
them wrong, but that is no excuse. Even if you were brought up by Adolf Hitler, by a harlot or a
criminal or a pagan high priest, it is still your own soul, and God requires you to love and trust
in Him, regardless of everything. If you do not, you will burn forever in hell. Your wicked
parents might burn, too, but that will not satisfy when your body, soul, and conscience are on
fire. So, children, do not disappoint your godly parents, do not break their hearts or bring tears
to their eyes, and do not destroy yourself through ungodliness; treasure the Christian training
you receive at their hands, and then be fruitful of good works, "For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them."

Today we come into the tent home, of Isaac as he bestows on his son Jacob the blessing he
received from his father Abraham. And the lesson we learn is not to despise the promise of
God. It is a lesson we learn from a mess of pottage, from deceit, and from the persistence of
the blessing.

I. A mess of pottage. Isaac was the miracle child of Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham
was 100 years old and Sarah 90. Abraham took great delight in him and loved him deeply. His
wife, Sarah, lived 37 more years and died at age 127. Abraham purchased a small piece of
ground with a cave on it, in which he laid Sarah to rest. Isaac and his mother had been very
close, and he missed her very much. Abraham now commissioned his eldest servant to return
to the city of Nahor, to his relatives who still believed in God. There, with God's guidance, he
located a pious young woman named Rebekah, who agreed to go with him to marry Isaac.
"And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his
wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

Rebekah was barren for over twenty years, but Isaac prayed for her and she at last conceived.
They had two children: twin boys named Esau and Jacob. Before they were born, "they
struggled together within her." Rebekah went to inquire of the Lord why this was, "and the
Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated
from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder
shall serve the younger." When they were born, the first, Esau, was red all over like a hairy
garment, and the other, Jacob, took hold of his heel. His name, Jacob, means "the one who
closely pursues," or "the supplanter." And that is precisely what he did. Esau should by natural
right and law should have inherited the promise from his father, but Jacob supplanted him. It
was, in fact, the will of God that he should do so, for the Lord had said, "The elder shall serve
the younger." St. Paul explains, "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, it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger." It was God's will that the
Messiah should come, not of the mighty hunter Esau, but of the delicate and plain man, Jacob.

It was fitting that it should be so, because Jacob loved the promise of Jesus and he treasured
his salvation, while Esau despised it. Coming in from his beloved hunting one day, he smelled
the pottage, the thick lentil soup, and asked for some. Jacob said, "Sell me this day thy
birthright." Esau answered, "Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this
birthright do to me?" And he swore that the birthright now belonged to Jacob. "Thus Esau
despised his birthright." With it he despised the promise of God, Jesus, and eternal salvation.
He sold his birthright very cheaply, for just a mess of pottage.

How many are they who have sold their birthright, their baptismal grace, their souls, and their
eternal salvation cheaply, too! For a few cents, a few dollars, or even for a few million or billion
dollars men have thrown away their eternal souls. They thought it was not worth it to be godly
or honest or to trust God, not when there was cold, hard cash to be had. Or how many have
sold their birthright for the fleeting pleasure of sex, or to possess a certain wife or husband? Or
how many gave up their salvation for the sake of power, or to have the approval of friends,
neighbors, or relatives? How many have rationalized that it is not so important to follow God's
Word, to obey His commandments, or to cling to His teachings, thinking they could still be
good Christians and still be saved while believing a lie, turning from the church and lending
their names to another gospel? Or how many have divided their homes, neglected their
children, or altogether forsaken the faith because they couldn't be bothered with Bible, with
church, or with prayer, thinking they have more important things to do? Have you? Despise
not the promise of God.

God's promise came to pass, though Esau did not get to share in it. Jacob became a great
nation, a patriarch of the Church; through him came Christ, the Savior of the world. Later on,
when Jacob had the promise, Esau suddenly wanted it, but the Bible says, "ye know how that
afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place
of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

II. Deceit. Isaac grew very old and did not want to die before passing on the blessing to his son.
Although he knew the prophecy said Jacob should supplant Esau, he favored Esau and was
determined to give it to him. In this he sinned; he thought to outdo God. He sent Esau to kill a
deer and make his favorite venison stew; then he would bless him. But Rebekah overheard.
She was determined that God's will be done. So she made a stew of goat meat and covered
Jacob with goat skins so he would feel like Esau. Jacob knew this was a lie, but he went along
with it, told his father he was Esau, and received the blessing of the dew of heaven, the fatness
of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine, saying, "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."

He received the blessing as God had promised. He and Rebekah did it so God's will would not
be frustrated, and one cannot blame them for that. Nevertheless, the Bible says, "Cursed be he
that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully." Again, "shall we sin, that grace may abound?"
We have to do God's will, but we must do it honestly and in the light of day. Even though he
received the blessing, God punishedthem for their deceit. Esau was so angry he sought to kill
Jacob, and he had to flee for his life. Rebekah did not see him for twenty years. Jacob had to
live away from home all that time. When he did return, he was still afraid of Esau. And when
he had his own family, some of his sons kidnaped his beloved Joseph, sold him to slave traders,
and told him the lie that Joseph was dead, and it broke his heart. He was inconsolable for
many years, until at last he learned that it was not true. The Bible says, "He that troubleth his
own house shall inherit the wind." Jacob inherited the wind.

God often carries out his will through the sins of others. The wicked Babylonians chastened the
Jews. A criminal's bullet takes a Christian's life and sends him to heaven. Joseph said to his
brothers, "Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good." Yet God never commands
or approves those sins. Nor could Jacob excuse himself by saying, I was only obeying my
mother. Adam and Eve tried that. We can never justify ourselves that way, nor by thinking we
meant well. We must confess to God that those deeds are sins. Indeed, our finest works are
nothing but filthy rags, and we must appeal to Jesus Christ and His righteousness and ask God
to be merciful to us for His sake.

III. The blessing remains. The blessing was that Jesus would come, take away sin, gather His
Church from all nations, and give eternal salvation to all who receive Him in faith. Whether it
was gained by deceit or not. God honored His promise and carried it out. You and I enjoy
forgiveness of sins, the blessing of God, answer to our prayers, and the sure hope of
everlasting life because He did. We should praise Him because His eternal counsel and will
were done, that He was determined to bring in salvation, and that Jesus was determined to
save us, so that He was not discouraged. "For the joy that was set before him, he endured the
cross, despising the shame, and endured the contradiction of sinners against himself." The joy
set before Him was the joy of saving you and me and many more. Indeed "there is joy in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth." So let us endure our crosses and despise the shame.
Let us not be wearied and faint in our minds and hearts, but endure the chastening of the Lord
when He rebukes us, and let us strive against sin in all its forms, that we may not lose our
inheritance, but rejoice forevermore in our God and Savior. Amen