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General Conference Bulletin, vol. 4 - Contents
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    SERMON

    L. C. SHEAFE

    Thursday, April 11, 7 P. M.

    We read in Genesis 32:24-28, these words: “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and men, and hast prevailed.”GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.3

    These are the words of the servant of the Lord, and in them there is a lesson for each of us. As we study the Word of the Lord, we find that God loves men for what they should be, and he gives us types, symbols, and characters all along the way, of periods and epochs in the history of the church of God. We turn to this thirty-second chapter of Genesis, and read the account of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel of God. This individual stands as a type of all the people in their needs. Let us this evening, as God shall guide, seek to draw from this portion of the word some lesson that shall be helpful to us.GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.4

    Most all of us are ordinary men and women; and life to us is real, its responsibilities are real. It is a real battle, a real struggle, and you and I need real, tangible help. We need to be helped now. I am glad that the Lord has told us in his Word that there is help, and just the kind that we need.GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.5

    And so, as I have read to you here in this Word, Isaac had grown old, his hair and beard were long and gray, his step was tottering, and his vision had failed. He called his eldest son, Esau, and told him that he was getting old, saying, “I do not know the day of my death, but it is near; and my son, before I die, I want to bless you. Go to the fields, procure venison, and make me savory meat, such as I love; then will I give you my parting blessing.”GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.6

    Esau, the elder of the two boys, took his spear, and bow and arrow, and started off to procure the venison, that he might prepare for his father the savory dish. The mother overheard the expression, and she said to Jacob, her younger son, “Your father has told your brother to go and get venison with which to make savory meat, and return again, that he may bless him. Now, my son, do as I bid you. Go to the flock, and bring me two good kids of the goats and kill and dress them, and I will make savory meat for your father. You take it in before Esau returns, and get the blessing.”GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.7

    “But,” Jacob said, “It may be my father would find it out, and then a curse would rest upon me instead of a blessing.” The mother said, “Do as I bid you, and the curse be on me.” Jacob hied away to the flock, procured the kids, and brought them to his mother, who prepared the savory dish. Then, for fear Isaac would feel to see whether the face was really the face of Esau, who was strong and hairy, Rebecca put the skin of the goats upon his hands and the back of his neck. Then taking another precaution, she put on Jacob some raiment that had the savor of the field. He then went into the presence of his father. Now let me read a word or two here, as Jacob went in before his father to present the food that he had prepared. The father was surprised that he returned so soon, and said, “Art thou my very son Esau?”GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.8

    Yes, he said, it is your son Esau. But how did you get the meat so quickly? asked Isaac. Oh, said Jacob, the Lord sent it to me. His father then asked him to come near, that he might be sure that it was Esau. As Isaac laid his hand upon Jacob, to feel whether or not it was Esau, he said, “It is the voice of Jacob, but it is the hand of Esau.” But Isaac was not yet satisfied, and so called the son nearer, to kiss him, that he might smell the odor of his garment, whether or not it was Esau.GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.9

    The deception was complete. The father was desirous of bestowing his parting blessing upon Esau. God had decreed, years before, that the blessing should rest upon Jacob. Rebecca was afraid that the plans of God would not carry, and so she sought to help him out. A good many of us are in that same condition. We are afraid that God is not equal to the emergency, and that if we do not take this thing in our hands, the thing will fail, the cause will come into disrepute, and we can not afford to have it that way.GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.10

    So Rebecca resorted to deception in order that she might help God out, as she thought; but O, could she have seen the sorrow she was heaping up in her own heart! could she have seen the heartaches throughout those years of separation from her favorite boy boy!—could she have seen it all, she would not have urged her son into this deception; she would have waited to see the salvation of God.GCB April 14, 1901, page 224.11

    The father bestowed his blessing upon his son. And here is the blessing that he gives him: “And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled a smell of his raiment, and blessed him and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed; therefore God give thee of the dew ofGCB April 14, 1901, page 224.12

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