Isaac: Faith Submits To God (Hebrews 11:20)

"By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau." (Hebrews 11:20)

Habakkuk's Faith

The author of Hebrews longed for his readers to live by faith. As Jewish people who'd received Jesus as Messiah-Christ, they were in for ostracization and persecution. The church community was their new spiritual family, and for many of them, it was the only family who would receive them anymore. For them, Christianity was costly, and they paid the price by living as outcasts from their society.

The author told them, from Habakkuk 2, to live by faith. Habakkuk, the prophet, had looked around at Israel's rebellious ways and asked God what He was doing. "The law is ineffective," Habakkuk told God (Habakkuk 2:4). The prophet was shocked by the carnality and sinfulness of people who bore God's name.

God responded to His prophet by telling him He would discipline His people by sending the Babylonians to invade Israel. Habakkuk struggled with this revelation, complaining to God that the Babylonians were much more ungodly than Israel. How could He discipline His children by a more rebellious people? But God told Habakkuk to believe it, to walk by faith.

And the faith Habakkuk had to walk in is what billions of believers have had to walk in. When we don't understand, we must trust God and His plans.

Jacob And Esau

Isaac, the son of Abraham, had to walk in this kind of faith as well, for he did not initially understand or submit to God's plans. Like Habakkuk, he argued with God but eventually surrendered to His ways. Let me explain.

As we've already seen, Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah. Through his line, the Abrahamic promise would unfold, and his descendants would become innumerable, with one particular descendant blessing the nations. His story, found in Genesis, is brief compared to Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph's, but we do learn a few details. He married a woman named Rebekah, and they struggled with infertility. Isaac prayed for her, and she became pregnant with twin boys. God told her, during the pregnancy, that two nations would come from her sons, and that "the older shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23).

At birth, Esau came out first, and from his line came the Edomite people. Jacob was born second. From his line came the Israelite people.

These two boys couldn't be more different. Esau was a wild man. He loved the great outdoors, hunting, and camping out in nature. He was a man of passions and impulsivity. Jacob, on the other hand, was a conniver, and more temperate than Esau. He liked staying in tents. So while Esau went deer hunting, Jacob read fine literature. They were just different guys.

One day, after coming home from a hunting expedition, Esau smelled a stew Jacob had prepared. His hunger overtook him, and he traded his birthright to Jacob for some of the stew. As I said, Esau was impulsive, while Jacob was a conniver.

One day, in his old age, Isaac decided it was time to give a customary fatherly blessing to his firstborn. He loved Esau and, though God had said the older would serve the younger, and though Esau had despised his birthright, Isaac wanted to bless Esau. He told the young man to hunt for game, cook it, and bring it to Isaac for a meal. Then he would bless Esau.

Rebekah heard Isaac's conversation with Esau and decided to intervene. She told Jacob they would quickly prepare a meal and steal Esau's blessing. Jacob objected that Isaac would never fall for it. But since Isaac was blind by this time, Rebekah dressed Jacob in Esau's clothes and put animals skins on his neck to make him feel and smell like Esau. And the ruse worked, Isaac pronounced the blessing of the firstborn on Jacob.

Eventually, Esau came in with his meal, per Isaac's instructions. Isaac was shocked. "Who are you?" he asked. "I'm Esau!" was the reply. "Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, 'Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.'" (Genesis 27:33).

Isaac had been duped, and he knew it, but it was too late. His blessing had already gone from his lips and descended upon Jacob.

Isaac's Faith

With their story in mind, we come to Hebrews 11:20, "By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau." But the Genesis tale doesn't strike us as one of faith, but of deceit and trickery. To what does the author refer?

Notice the order Hebrews alludes to: Jacob and Esau. Jacob, rightfully, first, with Esau second. From the womb, this was God's decision. Throughout their lives, Esau backed up God's choice by proving himself unworthy of the firstborn's blessing. And in that final moment in the tent, the blessing landed, albeit awkwardly, on the right man. Isaac shook with disappointment at his folly.

Eventually, Isaac came around. He ceased arguing with God's plan. He accepted the older would serve the younger, and embraced the fact that God chose to elevate Jacob over Esau. The promise Isaac had received from Abraham would flow into Jacob's line, not Esau's. Finally, Isaac submitted to God's plan.

Faith Submits To God

Faith submits to God, but we often argue with God. "Woe to the one who argues with his Maker -- one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, 'What are you making?'" (Isaiah 45:9). We often disagree with God and His decisions for our lives. But the life of faith comes to accept God's path for life. At some point, we must stop fighting with God and embrace His plans.

God, you see, is worthy of trust. Isaac only had his own earthly perspective. His vision was clouded with his preferences and logic. But God has eternal omniscience. He can see the end from the beginning, so His decisions are clear and right.

For instance, we often, if we think about it, have no idea how to pray. Romans confirms this: "We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (Romans 8:26). When a friend has cancer, we pray for its removal, but we can't possibly see all the spiritual benefits of said cancer. Perhaps our friend's life would become a spiritual wasteland without it. We have no idea. But we often think we do, because we have our perspectives and insights.

God, though, sees all and makes good and right decisions. God is worthy of our trust. He is wise, good, and sees the end from the beginning. Even today, I don't know fully why God chose Jacob over Esau, but He did. There are clues, of course, for Esau seems fleshly and impulsive, and Edom was often violent and mocking of God. But this can't explain things in totality, for Jacob was often deceitful, and the Israelites abandoned God regularly. But God had His reasons, and Isaac finally came around to a place where he could trust God.

What about you? Faith trusts God. It comes to a place, like Habakkuk, where arguments and objections cease and where God's will and purposes are accepted. In what ways does this brand of faith need activation in your life?

For the Hebrews who originally received this letter, they needed to receive God's determined and clear purpose that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament ceremonial law. They needed to embrace the Christianity that was now theirs, for God had clearly decided to make the law vanish away (Hebrews 8:13).

But what about you? Have you argued with God about your family of origin, your opportunities, your relationships, or world? Do you struggle to confess He is better at decision making than you are? He is! Learn to trust Him.