Genesis 27 – WRONGS DON’T MAKE IT RIGHT!
Have you heard of a sure cure for a toothache? Next time you have one, drop a rock on your foot. You will forget that you have a toothache! The trouble is, after your foot stops hurting, you will still have the toothache. “Two wrongs don’t make it right!”
You have also heard of that famous hero of yesteryear-named Robin Hood. Robin lived in Sherwood Forest with his band of “Merry Men”. Somehow they felt justified in robbing from rich people in order to take care of poor people. Granted, the poor may have been abused by the rich, but stealing is still stealing. “Two wrongs don’t make it right!”
If a friend of yours does something wrong, is it right for you to lie for him to keep him out of trouble? No! “Two wrongs do not make it right!”
How do I know that two wrongs, or any number of wrongs can not make it right? The Bible tells us so! When you study Romans 3 sometime make a close examination of verses 7-8. In those verses Paul condemns those who say, “Let us do evil, that good may come.” He is saying that doing wrong does not make things right.
When people do wrong to make things right they forget a key principle in the Word of God. Numbers 32:23 says, “…and be sure your sin will find you out.” You can not escape the penalty for hidden or unconfessed sin. Many a man thought he could hide an affair from his wife, only to have her discover it. The marriage was ruined. Many a woman thought she could hide her drinking habit only to discover she paid for it with family and health problems. Even if a person could or can hide a secret sin from people, God always knows about it and will hold the person accountable. 1 Corinthians 3:13
Wrongs do not make it right.
Today we want to learn about four people who tried to do wrong in order to make things right. They failed miserably.
BACKGROUND:
God’s intent was that the older son, Esau, would serve the younger son, Jacob. Genesis 25:22-23
Isaac, the father, loved Esau because of the venison he prepared. Rebekah, the mother, loved Jacob. Genesis 25:28
Esau despised his birthright and because of hunger sold it to Jacob. Jacob took advantage Esau in order to gain the benefits of the birthright. Under God’s plan, the birthright would be Jacob’s. Jacob went about getting it the wrong way. Genesis 25:29-34
ISAAC’S PLAN – Vss. 1-3
Isaac planned to give the blessing God to Esau. This was not God’s plan according to Genesis 25:22-23.
Also, the deal over the birthright indicated that Jacob should be the one receiving the blessing. His wrong did not make things right, and other problems followed.
We have to give credit to Isaac. When he realized that his plan had failed, he yielded to the will of God. Genesis 27:23
SARAH’S PLOT – Vss. 6-16
Rebekah overheard Isaac’s plan. She should have confronted her husband. Instead she schemed in order to do what was right. Her plan was to fool her husband into thinking Jacob was Esau.
The deception worked, but it did not make things right. It developed an animosity between Esau and Jacob. Esau was ready to kill Jacob and Jacob needed to leave for his safety. As a result she never again saw the son she loved. Genesis 27:41-28:5
JACOB’S DECEIT – Vss. 18-29
Jacob told a string of lies in order to deceive his father.
Although he received the blessing, it did not make things right.
Jacob had to flee for his life, and he ended up being deceived by his father-in-law.
It wasn’t until Jacob finally humbled himself before his brother that things were made right. Genesis 32:3-5, 33:8-11
ESAU’S DEFEAT – Vss. 30-41
Esau was evidently in agreement about taking the blessing away from Jacob.
He also knew that the birthright had been sold to Jacob.
His plot only ended up in defeat and disappointment.
As a result, he became so angry that he planned to murder his brother.
WRONGS DO NOT MAKE IT RIGHT!