By VICTORIA GRIMMETT RABB

 

Part I of III

 

All Bible enthusiasts have their favorite Old Testament character(s), with this writer’s being the family of Isaac and Rebecca along with their twins Jacob and Esau.

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Isaac was directly descended from Abraham and Sarah. Isaac was, in fact, the child of promise from God to Abraham. Good lineage, so far. However, the boys were also in the lineage of Laban, their conniving uncle and his scandalous sister Rebecca, their mother. If there ever was a pirate of the desert, Laban was it, and Rebecca was his first mate. They were both master scam artists. In this family’s story, there is never a dull moment.

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But, as with almost every story in the Old Testament, we can find types and shadows of Jesus, the soon coming Messiah. Finding these depictions is a must for the serious student of the Old Testament.

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To begin, we should first understand something about the Jewish concept of adoption. It will be important to the story later on.

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Adoption was about son-ship. Every Jewish family had to have a male progeny to keep the family name alive. If they could not produce a son, they had to adopt one. Adoption was usually done when the head of the family had gotten old and pretty close to death, and still had no male heir. The male he selected to adopt would have to be an adult—perhaps a nephew, or the chief servant of the house who had proven to be faithful to the family. Babies were not adopted for this purpose.

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The adopted son was given permanent first born son status. So, if under these provisions you adopted a son, and later you and your spouse gave birth to a son, the adopted son would still keep his first born privilege.

The first born privilege always included a double portion of the inheritance. This was called the First Born Blessing. The first born privilege granted the son the same authority and headship as the father. That authority was called the Birthright Blessing.

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The first born designation came with an immutable adoption contract. No refunds, no returns. No matter what the adopted son did, his son-ship could never be taken away from him. The designation included a historical cleansing of the adoptee’s past. His past was completely erased in everyone’s mind, and was to never be brought up again. The adoptee had to take on the family history of his new father.

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Example: You’ve been adopted, and you’re riding along with your dad and you happen to look out and see your old run-down residence. You say, “Look father! That’s the old shack I used to live in!”

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Your adopted father then says, “Son, I never lived in that run-down old shack, so neither did you. My blood line is now in you, and your past, present and future is now in me.”

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This is the basic essence or Spirit of adoption. (Romans 8:15)

 

On with the story.

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The law had been given to the people a few generations back by Moses, but there was no priest, no local temple. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes, and an annual animal sacrifice ritual atoned for all sins committed The family was dysfunctional. Each parent openly favored one twin over the other. Isaac adored Esau’s ruddiness and manliness. Rachel adored Jacob’s cleverness and intellect.

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This would not have been the best family to live in. In this writer’s opinion they might deserve a full hall of shame exhibit. But this story is a vortex of dysfunction and destiny, spinning into purpose, which should bring hope to us all.

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Jacob and Esau

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God took a proactive part with these boys. According to scripture, He even favored Jacob (Malachi 1:2, 3), and hated Esau. (That’s probably because Esau was so callous about his own first born status that he was willing to give his blessing away for next to nothing.)

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God did not choose Jacob because Jacob was a great guy. In fact, He called Jacob a worm (Isaiah 41:14) and said, “I love you, and I am going to protect you—you ‘Worm.’”  This word translated “worm” here, was translated from “maggot” in another passage—not a glowing endorsement from God.

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Jacob’s name in Hebrew means supplanter, deceiver, cheat. He was conniving and clever. Esau’s name means brute, rough around the edges, a little rugged. He was hairy, manly, and probably dumb as mud.

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The set up—Dad orders takeout: Gen. 27: 1-17

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One day, Esau went hunting but returned empty handed, tired and hungry. He stopped off at his brother’s house, begging for the lentil soup he smelled from afar off. Jacob connived the ravenous Esau into giving him his birth- right blessing in exchange for the bowl of soup.

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But that was some time ago. Isaac had grown old and feeble, and was near death. He got a hankering for his favorite son Esau’s cooking, and asked him to prepare a meal of wild venison/deer.

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Part II of III

The Two Home Deliveries

 

Esau happily treks into the mountains to nab a deer for his dad’s meal It could take several days, perhaps a week, to kill it, skin it, lug it home, cut it up, and cook it for his father. But it will be worth it, because when he returns with food for his dad, Esau will get the coveted First Born Blessing from him. He’s already lost his to his younger brother. He wants the remaining blessing that is his due.

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​Clearly, Esau didn’t care about losing the Birthright Blessing. Receiving it meant he’d have to stick around and take over for his dad, and run the ranch. Esau had his eye on some of the Arab women from surrounding com- munities, and he knew he couldn’t bring them home, so he’d have to live elsewhere. The First Born Blessing

was the double inheritance. Esau wanted that so he could live elsewhere, in style.

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Isaac wants to perform his final fatherly role of giving the blessing to his favorite son. There was a time when if

a father spoke words over his children, those words came to pass. Fathers, what words are you speaking over your children?

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Meanwhile, Rebecca learns that her husband Isaac is ready to give the First Born Blessing to his favorite son, Esau, who is the rightful heir. But Rebecca wants her favorite son Jacob to have it. Rebecca plots against both her husband and her eldest son Esau. Remember, this is Laban’s sister. Laban is the one who will deceive Jacob for more than 20 years. Rebecca needs to convince her husband that Jacob is Esau, so that Jacob can usurp the blessing. She knows that Isaac is nearly blind; so, while Esau is out hunting, Rebecca cooks a pot of goat stew and seasons the meat to taste like venison.

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She takes the goat skins and whips up some gloves and a nice neck choker to make Jacob’s smooth hands and neck feel hairy like Esau’s. She dresses Jacob in Esau’s old bloody, hunting clothes so that he’ll smell like Esau. Jacob goes in to Isaac in the persona of Esau. Genesis 27:18-29, Types, Shadows and A Perfect Scheme

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It worked. Jacob receives the First Born Blessing from Isaac. The end—right? Not really. There are many hidden nuggets in this story. If we look deeply enough, we will find pictures of Jesus, the privileges of salvation, and more. Where is this? It is in the Types and Shadows.

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The great African, St. Augustine of Hippo (an early church patriarch) said this about the Bible: "The New is in the Old contained. The Old is by the New explained." Jesus said it better: (John 5:39) "Search the Scriptures, for you think you have eternal life just because you memorized the scriptures but what you don’t realize is that the scriptures are pointing you to me."

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God embedded allegories, parables, or Types and Shadows that provided pictures of things to come to the savvy reader of the Old Testament. Paul often referred to them as mysteries. God kept some things unclear to the unbeliever, but expected His own to study and decipher these mysteries so that we could discover the hidden pictures and messages of the bible.

 

The obvious message in this story is that God recognizes our frailties, our shortcomings, our imperfections, but loves us in spite of them. His mercy far exceeds our sinfulness. There is more.

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Esau is actually a type of or a picture of Jesus. How can that be? Who is the beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased? Doesn’t that describe Esau in this passage? Does it also describe Jesus? If only for a small freeze-frame in time, Esau depicts Jesus.

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Jesus said, "If you ask anything in my name, God (the Father) will give it you." Jacob, the maggot, the deceiver and cheat, came camouflaged in the name of Esau. Isaac, like God the Father, automatically responded, "Yes," to his Beloved Son.

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Jacob is a picture of the Church body. Jacob didn’t deserve his father’s blessing. But he received it anyway. We, the church, have unmerited favor with the Father. Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob, because under the covering of a sacrificed animal and a blood-stained garment, Jacob looked like his first born, beloved Son, a type of Jesus.

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What This Tells Us

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There is a covering for the church body that is so fool-proof that it compels God to treat us as if we are his beloved son, Jesus. That covering is the robe of righteousness. Under the covering of righteousness, and in accordance with the spirit of adoption, we immediately become a joint heir with Jesus in the majestic family of God. We are immediately transported to the throne room with right standing before God.

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Last of three parts

Legal Sons of God

 

​In the Heavenly throne room, we are "seated not with Christ, but in Christ." (Ephesians 2:6) The scriptural use of the phrase, "In Him…" is actually adoption language. We immediately become entitled to kingdom privileges—authority, provision, protection, and power. We are always entitled to more than enough.

Outside of him, maybe you used to be a thieving drug addict. But in him, not only are you no longer a thieving addict, but, as an adopted Son of God. You never were a thieving addict, because your adopted father never was. (Isaiah 43:25, Hebrews 10:17, and Hebrews 8:12)—will remember your sins no more.
 

Your past has been blotted out. Your birth certificate has been altered. You are now a son of the living God, walk- ing in the power and love of "Abba father" (Romans 8:15) You also become a citizen of heaven. The Holy Spirit has enshrouded you in righteousness, which alters you so precisely within this covering that God prom- ises to treat you as if you were Jesus Himself. You radiate His sinless presence before the Father.
 

We are in Christ and He is without sin, past, present, and future; therefore we are without sin, past, present and future. We can now ask Anything in the name of, or under the authority of Jesus, as if we were actually Jesus the first born, the beloved Son of the living God.

So, let’s go back now: Jacob gets the blessing from his father Isaac. What is that blessing? Let’s take a look in
Genesis 27: 28, 29:

 

Blessing One: Abundance, Prosperity. "God give thee the dew of heaven, and the fatness (continuous excess) of the earth, and corn and wine in plenty." (Genesis 27: 28) This calls for a year-round harvest; wheat and corn in the spring and summer, grapes and wine in the fall and winter. These are all prosperity terms.

Blessing Two: Authority, Position, Respect. "Let people serve thee [and] nations bow down to thee. Be lord over your brethren. Let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee." (Genesis 27: 29[a])

 

This blessing will trickle all the way down to a teenager named Joseph. Even the armies of Satan must bow down to you. Isis, El Qaeda, Ku Klux Klan, Proud Boys—all must bow down to you. Drug addiction, pornogra- phy, adultery, lying, stealing, sickness and disease, poverty, lack, and every form of debauchery must bow down to you.

Blessing Three: Protection. "Cursed is everyone that curses you, and blessed is everyone that blesses you." (Gen. 27: 29[b]). God has given us supernatural protection, beyond our ability to protect ourselves.
 

Let this 3-part blessing become familiar; it’s your adopted son blessing (same as first-born son). Throughout the Bible we see that God has blessed His first-born sons to prosper, giving us ruling authority, and putting a hedge of protection around us. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." (Genesis 34: 7)

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But we must get the sin-covering Robe of Righteousness on and keep it on. The essence of Jesus—His very being—is woven into the fabric! That’s why the Bible tells us to "put on Christ." (Gal 3:27)

At the Academy Awards fest on the red carpet, the stars are asked, "Who are you wearing?" They will say the designer's name—Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Yves St Laurent, et al. Further, a stylist has made them look like a superstar celebrity who deserves to be honored and admired by all, even if they’ve never been nominated to receive anything.

Church, who are you wearing? Hopefully, Jesus. But are you dressed well enough for the part? Who is your stylist? The Holy Spirit—your teacher, your guide—is the one who gets you made up in your Jesus look-alike persona. He is your stylist.
 

Rebecca, for an instance, represents a type of the Holy Spirit, preparing us to come before God, the Father, knowing that in our own selves, we do not deserve to stand before God or to receive His blessings, but we get them anyway when shrouded in the Robe of Righteousness, looking and behaving like Jesus.

Jacob did exactly as Rebecca instructed him and went boldly into the presence of His Father. The right covering and obedience will garner access to the throne room for us. When we have access, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
 

In conclusion, church, it is time to get dressed to impress, and be blessed!