Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

THE HANDS OF ESAU

This entry was posted on 03-09-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

"So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, 'The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.'" (Gen. 27:22 NKJV).

Have you ever been deceived? It is not a pleasant feeling. You feel like someone has betrayed you. You feel violated, humiliated, and shamed. It is a terrible thing to deceive a person. This is what happened to Isaac when he was old and blind. His son, Jacob, with the assistance of his mother Rebekah, concocted a plan to deceive the old man so that Jacob would received the coveted birthright, even though his brother Esau was the firstborn son. Jacob confided in her, saying, "Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing" (vs. 11, 12). Jacob was not only smooth-skinned, he had a smooth tongue. He was a deceiver! He admitted as much. While Esau was on a hunt, Rebekah made a savory stew and Jacob approached his father with the skins of goats on the back of his hands and neck. That's when Isaac felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

There are so many deceivers in the world today doing the work of the master deceiver, Satan. The apostle John said, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). The voice is Jacob's but the hands are Esau's. Don't be deceived by the hands of Esau. That voice you hear is not the one you think it is. The hands make you feel like it is genuine, but the voice cannot be mistaken. It is the voice of falsehood, error, deception, and danger. Smooth talkers deceive many out of their life savings; worse than that, eternal life. Do not be led astray. Test the spirits to see whether they are of God. Is what they are saying according to the Bible? Is it that same as what Jesus and the apostles taught? Stay with God's Word and you will not be led astray. This is why personal Bible study is so important. Don't let what you "feel" rob you of your spiritual birthright. Learn to recognize the smooth voice of the deceiver and reject his or her lying message.

Prayer: God of all truth, grant us wisdom so that we might be able to discern between truth and error. May we always stay with You Son who is the way, the truth and the life. In His name we pray, Amen.