Scripture
– Genesis 27:1-29 NASB
Now
it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he
called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son." And he said to
him, "Here I am." Isaac said, "Behold now, I am old and I do not
know the day of my death. Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your
bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish
for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may
bless you before I die."
Rebekah
was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field
to hunt for game to bring home, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Behold, I
heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 'Bring me some game and
prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of
the LORD before my death.' Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command
you. Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I
may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. Then you
shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before
his death." Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, "Behold, Esau my
brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me,
then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse
and not a blessing." But his mother said to him, "Your curse be on
me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." So he went and
got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such
as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son,
which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And
she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his
neck. She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her
son Jacob.
Then
he came to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here
I am. Who are you, my son?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your
firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game,
that you may bless me." Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you
have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God
caused it to happen to me." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come
close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or
not." So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said,
"The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of
Esau." He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his
brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. And he said, "Are you really my
son Esau?" And he said, "I am." So he said, "Bring it to
me, and I will eat of my son's game, that I may bless you." And he brought
it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. Then his father
Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son."
So
he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he
blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a
field which the LORD has blessed; Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May
peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And
may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed
be those who bless you."
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
thought it was worth the travel to Southminster to worship with Silas Ncozana, and
we were welcomed even more cordially than usual. This was the 9 a.m. Crossings
service which is usually a bit relaxed, but today there was an extra enthusiasm.
I was
afraid the female lead of the praise team had changed until she sang a solo at
the offering, a great rendition of “Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful.”
Pastor
Merry and Abusa Silas presented a dialog sermon of Jacob and Esau arguing in
the modern style over the stolen (divinely redirected) birthright blessing of
Genesis 27 They were able to ham it up and get the message across.
Silas
told how, during this visit to the States he was able to see his son whom he
hasn’t seen in 10 years and welcome his 7-month-old grandson.
It
was a joy to feel part of worship today at Southminster and reunite with
friends.
Jan’s
thoughts:
It’s
only been four months since our last visit here, but today was special and we
could not resist the opportunity to worship with Rev. Silas Ncozana. Silas is
one of the founding members of the Partnership between Pittsburgh Presbytery
and the Synod of Blantyre in Malawi. Following a period as Malawi’s Ambassador
to Western Europe and the Vatican, he has returned to serving God within the
church.
We
were welcomed before we even made it into the building, again as we walked
through the doors and yet again as we entered the worship area. The Passing of
the Peace was a time of extended friendliness.
I
enjoy the music at this contemporary service called “Crossings”…the leadership
is excellent and the volume is perfect.
The
message was in the form of a dialog between Silas and Dan, with Silas playing
the part of Esau and Dan imagining the words of Jacob. The lesson was that God has
abundant blessings for everyone, including those who are part of broken
families, those with whom we disagree, and even each of us in spite of
ourselves.
As
always, I was blessed to worship here, even beyond our brief visit with Silas,
as the Holy Spirit is abundantly present.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray You use Silas’ message to reunite Your Church and guide us to what You
want us to be. Amen.
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