Genesis 27 & 28: Will You Flee From Deceit?
Verse of the Day: (27:12) My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
    
1. Death (27:1-5)
And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: (27:2)

Everyone will die and Isaac was no exception as he prepared his will and legacy for his family. He asked his eldest son, Esau, to prepare him his favourite stew and he would then bless him with blessings to be the head of his family and lead over all his family matters. Indeed, we know our birthdays but not our death-days and let us believe in Jesus because by God’s grace are we saved through faith in Jesus, and we shall be freed from condemnation in fiery hell, and have everlasting life with God in heaven. (Ephesians 2:8)

2. Deceit (27:6-46)
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. (27:41)

Though Isaac prepared to bless Esau, yet his wife, Rebekah, preferred Jacob, their youngest son, to be the head of their family. She taught Jacob to deceive his father, Isaac, by preparing Isaac’s favourite stew for Jacob to give to Isaac, as well as covered Jacob with Esau’s clothing, so that Isaac would be deceived to think that Jacob was Esau. Subsequently, Isaac was deceived and he gave both the birth-right and blessing to Jacob instead of Esau. This deceit led to hatred and animosity between Jacob and Esau, as Esau sought to kill Jacob. Until this day Jacob and Esau’s descendants; the Jews and the Arabs, still have deep rooted disputes over many matters. Let us be truthful in everything as God is the Way, the Truth and the Life, so that God’s richest blessings be upon us (John 14:6)

3. Dream (28:1-22)
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (28:12)

Rebekah instructed Jacob to flee from Esau, who sought to kill him, and go to her hometown to marry his wife-to-be who was his cousin. While travelling Jacob had a dream, as God spoke and assured him that he would succeed Isaac, and be the father of Israel. The ladder in the dream was the prophecy of Jesus being the Saviour who shall bring men who believe in Jesus, from earth to heaven as absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Today, God only speaks to us from the Bible, and our dreams are just dreams! It is God’s love that Jacob was not only forgiven, but he was blessed as the father of Israel. Let us thank God for His love, that when we believe in Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins, and blessed with abundant life in Him! (John 3:16)  

Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to flee from deceit and be truthful as You are the Truth.