God Always Has a Plan

 (from Pastor Jason’s message on March 20, 2022)

 

It’s been about 500 years since the flood. It’s now that we meet the grandsons of Abraham, the twin sons of Isaac. Esau, the oldest twin, struggled with self-control, jealousy, and forgiveness. Jacob, the youngest twin, struggled with insecurity, deception, and greed.

 

We pick up their story in Genesis 25:19-23 (NLT): 

 

This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel … and the sister of Laban …. Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So, she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other, and your older son will serve your younger son.”

 

This is one of those pivotal moments in Scripture. We have to understand that just because God knows something, doesn’t mean God causes something. We all have free will and many things happen because of our decisions. It’s been said that everything happens for a reason but sometimes our “human wisdom” is the reason! God was revealing prophetically to Rebekah what was coming, not what He was causing. This is why it’s CRUCIAL to have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit because He’ll show us things to come! (John 16:13)

 

So, throughout their lives, Jacob & Esau have a difficult relationship, to say the least. Their parents each have a favorite. Isaac loved Esau but Rebekah loved Jacob. In fact, this issue of favoritism is seen for three generations in this family. Abraham loved Isaac most, Isaac loved Esau most, and Jacob will love Joseph more than Joseph’s brothers.

 

There was a particularly important event that takes place in their childhood that we find in Genesis 25:27-34 (NLT)

 

As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So, Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

 

So, Esau, for temporary gain based on a desperate but temporary situation, gave away his lifetime birthright. And Jacob, from a place of deep insecurity, and wanting to be at least equal with his brother in his father’s eyes, learns to scheme and manipulate to get what he wants. Now, let’s fast-forward a few more years to the defining event in their relationship recorded in Genesis 27:1-18a (NLT, abbreviated):

 

One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So, when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, she said to her son Jacob … do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.” … So, Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. So, Jacob took the food to his father. 

 

Initially, Isaac is confused. He’s blind and is relying on his hearing. He recognizes Jacob’s voice but when he touches him, he feels like Esau. There’s a lesson here. We get into trouble when we should be relying on what we hear the Holy Spirit saying to us instead of relying on what we’re experiencing in this physical world. Isaac touched something that felt familiar and it convinced him to ignore what he heard. That’s why the familiar feeling of old sin can convince us to ignore what we hear the Holy Spirit saying.

 

So, Isaac pronounces the blessing of the firstborn on Jacob instead of Esau. Jacob had successfully stolen the privileges of being the firstborn, and now he had also stolen the firstborn blessing from the Father. We find the aftermath mentioned in Genesis 27: 30-38 (NLT, abbreviated):

 

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.” But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged. But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” … Then Esau broke down and wept.

 

This is just a little too real if you are someone who has struggled with parental relationships. There’s something unique about the blessing of a parent and, perhaps, especially a father. And there’s no issue like a family issue. It can work its way deep into your very soul, as it did for Esau. We read in verse 41:

 

From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”

 

If God had planned this, He wouldn’t be the Good Father we sing about. No, this is human greed, ambition, jealousy, insecurity at its worse! Yes, God’s overall sovereign plan will come to pass no matter what, but in our lives, we and those around us live with the consequences of our actions. But, as we’ll see in the story of Joseph, what people mean for evil, God will use for good! The Apostle Paul learned this lesson. He was an arrogant, educated murderer, turned Gospel preacher, and he said this from deep personal experience in Romans 8:28 (NLT):

 

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

 

In this story, maybe you relate to Jacob. You’ve made choices out of your insecurities that have charted the course of your life. Maybe you’ve hurt some people along the way, and they’ve suffered the consequences of your decisions.

 

In this story, maybe you relate to Esau. You’re responded out of hurt and bitterness in a way that’s affected your life negatively. Maybe that hurt, bitterness, and unforgiveness are continuing to affect you and those around you.

 

In this story, maybe you relate to Jacob and Esau. Because, if we’re honest, we’ve probably all been both. But no matter who we are, the truth of God’s Word is still the same!

 

Always remember that no matter who you are, God always has a plan for your life and your circumstances! No matter what we’ve done, God can still work things together for our good.

No matter what’s been done to us, God can still work things together for our good. Even when we can’t see it. Even when we don’t understand it. Even when we’re on a journey with no end in sight! We must choose to listen to the truth the Holy Spirit is speaking.

 

But how do we move past our history into God’s promises for our future? The key is actually in a verse we skipped over previously. It’s what Isaac said to Esau when he pronounced somewhat of a blessing on his oldest son. After affirming the blessing he gave to Jacob, Isaac says this in verse 40:

 

“But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”

 

And when YOU decide to break free… This wasn’t a violent statement calling Esau to war against his brother. In fact, to this point, Esau had never physically served Esau, but he had been a servant to him for years emotionally. No, it was a statement directly to his son’s heart, even though Esau couldn’t yet see it. Isaac was saying, “Son, when you finally decide to let the hatred, jealousy, and bitterness go, you’ll break free from the yoke (the hold) of what Jacob did to you.” He was prophesying into Esau’s life that it wasn’t over. He was declaring that the best was yet to come in his life, but that it would take a decision to finally break free.

 

That’s why sometimes the key to releasing God’s plan in our lives is choosing to be free. We can continue to live under the shame and guilt of our choices, or the anger and bitterness of the things that have been done to us, or we can choose to be free through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan, but He needs us to let go of what’s holding us back and step fully into all He has in store.

 

For years, Jacob lived in fear of his brother while Esau was held captive by his unforgiveness. But, then, something interesting happens. Jacob decides to obey God and go back home. He was having issues where he was, with his wife’s family – because He had always run from his problems. But God spoke and, for once, Jacob listened in Genesis 31:3 (NLT):

 

“Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and your grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.”

 

Home. The only thing there for him was a death threat. But on the way home, Jacob has an experience with God Himself. He going to see Esau the next day but that night everything changed. Jacob is alone in the camp and begins to wrestle with an angel of the Lord. Have you ever felt like you were wrestling with God? I have. Your heart is crying, “God, I don’t want to let go of this! This is a big deal!”

 

There’s a line in the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo, where the lead character, Edmond Dantes, who has been grossly abused and betrayed, says to the women he once loved, “If you ever loved me, don't rob me of my hate. It's all I have!” But the reality is that God isn’t robbing us of anything. He’s longing for us to be truly free. At the end of that night of wrestling with God, as we read in Genesis 32:26-28 (NLT), Jacob says:

 

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel…”

 

All it takes is one honest encounter with God and everything changes! You see, the name Jacob, in those days, meant deceiver. In one moment of honesty, Jacob confesses to who he is – He owns his sin. He owns his emotions. And then God says, “That’s who you’ve been, but it’s no longer whom you’re going to be.” And the nation of Israel was born that day because Jacob made a decision to break free.

 

When we choose to break free, miracles happen. Just look at what happened in Genesis 33:1-4 (NLT, abbreviated):

 

Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. …Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

 

God ALWAYS has a plan! He’s always there to work things together for good. Reconciliation, forgiveness, freedom – they’re all part of His plan!

 

The question is simple: what will we choose today? Will we choose to hold on to the things that are holding us back or will we choose to break the yoke around our neck – by the power of the Holy Spirit – and walk into the plan God has for us?

 

Pastor’ Blessing:

- Be blessed in knowing, no matter how things may look right now, that God ALWAYS has a plan for your life.

- Be blessed in knowing that God’s plan will prevail in your life because He ALWAYS causes things to work together for your good.

- Be blessed as you choose, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be free because freedom is ALWAYS just one decision away.

- Be blessed today in Jesus’ name…