Of Grace Over Works.
In one of the days my mother called me and told me that when I am coming back from work that very day, she will like for me to buy roasted fish by the road side and bring for her that she is going to pray a special prayer for me.
At first I had wanted to do as she requested. But on a second thought I decided not to buy any fish. rather I went visiting her at the family house the next day without any fish.
On getting to the family house, she asked about the fish. Then I asked her that, if I can not buy a fish, she will not pray for me?
Then she said she will still pray for me. Then she said she has always being praying for me And my siblings even before we were born. Then she said she was just hungry of fresh fish that was why she requested for the fish.
Then I told her that she doesn’t need to ask for anything or to attach anything to prayer before she can get a fish from me.
I told her that if she needs a fish, she should just call me and tell me she needs a fish and I will make it available to her if I have the money and not to attach the request of a fish to special prayer for me.
So while I was about leaving, I decided to transfer some money to her and told her that if she still needs the fish, she can send one of her maid to go get he the fish. Then she was glad then I left.
Now this was also the case of Esau and Jacob in the bible.
Just as their father; Isaac would want Esau to do something for him first before he can bless him, which was unto the pattern of works, God on the other hand would have Jacob get the blessing without truly doing as the father had asked Esau to do to get the fathers blessing which is unto the pattern of grace Romans 9:11
Works will have you bring something before you can be bless. Which is more like the ways of the idol worshipers; Where the people are asked to bring something to the gods before the gods can bless them or before their gods can do something for them.
So as we have read in the bible of how Isaac told Esau to go into the bush and get some meat and prepare some venison just as he likes it and bring for him to eat so that he can bless him. Genesis 27:1-4
So also every law demands of the people to do some certain things before the can be bless.
Now while Isaac was speaking to Esau, their mother heard it and told Jacob their father’s plan to bless Esau. So she worked with Jacob; the younger son to pretend to be Esau to get the blessing from their father without actually having to d as the father requested for to get the blessing. Genesis 27:5-20.
Now this isn’t to say God love deception, this was to demonstrate the place of graces over works.
The mother did what she did because she was attach to her last born, which is what most mother will want to do. Another reason that Rebecca to do what she did was because she under the influence of the force of destiny that speaks of the preference for the younger son over the elder son in relation to God’ election of grace over works that was working on both her and her two sons.
This force began to work on her from the day she went to enquire of the lord through a prophet about the twins she was carrying in her womb. And she was told that she was carrying two nations in her womb. And that there are two kind of people that she is carrying in her womb and that the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25: 22-26.
It was said that the lord said “Jacob have I love And Esau have I hate Malachi 1:1-3 Romans. 9:11-14.
This hate as we can see was not to be taking as true hatred for the elder son nor does it mean to truly hate someone as we all know in the English rendition.
No.
Rather this hatred it means to be preferred to the another.
Now while their father; Isaac was working to favor his first son Esau, as his rightful hair by virtue of tradition and culture, he never knew his first son has already sold his birth right to his younger son with a pot of soup. At the same time the same elder son was trying to go get the blessing of first born that he has already relinquish to the younger brother from the father.
The same right of the blessing he has already relinquished to the younger brother.
This shows to us that Esau was no longer of any right to the blessing of the first born. Genesis 25:29-34
To me he was the one that wanted to supplant his younger brother; Jacob. not the other way round as the bible will put it in that book of genesis and as many would also believed.
It is on this note that God never truly called the younger one; Jacob, meaning a sup planter. Rather he called him Israel and a prince. _Genesis 32:28
Even with all that Jacob did, you will notice that he was still accepted by God. The reason is because Jacob has always being God’s choice by the reason of God’s election of grace over works.
It was on this reason of God’s choice of grace over works that also resulted to Esau selling his birth right to Jacob.
It was also on this same note still that Jacob has to succeed Esau in receiving the blessing from the father.
The reason is because God knows that Jacob only took what was rightfully his by the virtue of fair bargain.
It is why I will often tell people that Jacob didn’t actually steal Esau blessing because Esau has already sold his birth right to Jacob. And when You sell you birth right to your younger brother, it simply means you have sold all that goes with the birthright including the blessings of the first born.
Heaven understood this and recon with it. But Isaac wasn’t aware of this neither did he understand it.
Being that Isaac was not aware of this, that was why he was planning to bless the the first son with the prayer that was not in line with the destiny of the elder son who had sold his birth right.
Now if you look at the prayer Isaac wanted to pray for Esau that was later giving to Jacob, you will discover that the prayer was in line with the prophesy the prophet told their mother Rebecca when she was pregnant of them both; the prophesy says “the elder shall serve the younger.
You see this in_ genesis 27:28-29.
Now all this happened because of the mistake of their grandfather; Abraham. Romans 9:8-9, genesis 18:10,14.
This will be a topic of another day..
It was Because of what Abraham did by having his first heir from the bond woman, that God decided to move his journey of the covenant of salvation of grace over works from the first born to the second born. From the believed the strongest to the believed weakest. From the believed advantage, to the believed the disadvantage.
It is why it will be said that “it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that shows mercy. Romans 9:16. Ephesians 2:8-9
Now Esau being the first born was a symbol of works. Just as we would always believed that every first born are more stronger than the last born, and should serve the last born. It is on this note, that Esau would be seen to be the right person to take the battle of leadership and to go on the journey of the walk of destiny and the covenant of salvation with the lord. But as it is said that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy, God decided to choose Jacob; the one that nature or humanity will think to be weak as a symbol of grace to take the position of leadership and to walk with God on the covenant of the salvation of humanity.
It was on this note that God also said unto Rebecca when she was with the twins in her bowels, that the elder have I hate and the younger have I loved _Malachi 1:2,3
It wasn’t that God truly hate Esau or that God truly loved Jacob more than Esau. But the bible said it was for the election of grace over works.
So as a believer, we do not need to do anything first to get the blessing of the father just like we saw Isaac asking Esau to do for him to bless him.
That is not the pattern of grace. Rather that is the pattern of works and of the law.
When we do that, we are no longer walking in grace but under the law.
Esau represented the of the law while Jacob represented grace. They were both use to demonstrate the pattern of the law and that of grace. That was all.
As a new creation believer under grace, we dont give to God or to the mission work so that God can bless us. Rather we give because we are already bless.
More Also, we do not give to God so that God can bless us.
We are already bless by what Christ did on the cross. Just as the bible has rightly said that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus,_2 Corinthians 5: 21.
We are also told that we are bless with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 13:14
As you can see, both our righteousness and our blessings are both a function of what Christ had done for us.
They are both in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t require us to do anything before God can bless us.
When we come into Christ by believing and receiving the finish work of salvation, we are already bless by God. And we do not need to do any more thing for God to bless us.
If we have being doing something before God can bless us, this teaching today has shown to us now that it is not the right ways of giving in Gods kingdom.
We don’t give to God or to the mission work so that God bless us his children.
Now this is the true gospel. not the one that say Jacob stole Esau birthright. Or that Jacob is a sup planter. Or the one that will request of you to bring something before you can be bless.
I hope I am teaching good here.
