Deception: Catch me if you can (p.s.: God can and will.)

In the movies, there are the good guys and the bad guys. Sometimes, the bad guy is the good guy. Who do you root for? In Catch Me If You Can, the bad guy is a likable master con artist. Frank Abagnale, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, passes as a doctor with no medical school, a lawyer with no law school, and an airline pilot with no flight school. Not bad for someone who never finished high school. But he did graduate from fooling schooling. But FBI agent Carl will not be thwarted. He will catch his man… if he can. Frank could just about trick anyone. Let’s face it, all men have deception their nature, to try to deceive anyone, even God. There was a Frank Abagnale in the bible? He tried.

Can deception (or any other sin) thwart the plans of God?

The answer is found in Gen 27. Jacob, the younger twin of Isaac, has conned his brother Esau out of the birthright—the privileged position as a first-born son—to get most of his father’s physical inheritance. Now he’s after the blessing—the oral pronouncement from the father that he will also be in the prime position of authority over the family when Isaac passes away. Jacob gives a master class in deception.

Just because he tricks his daddy and brother doesn’t mean he can trick God. What’s at stake is who will be in the line of men to bring to earth the promised Seed—the God-man who will defeat Satan and bless all mankind. We see this drama play out in our Genesis series—The Seed: The Greatest Story Ever Told.

In Genesis 27, we will see three reasons why the deception will not thwart God’s plans. First, God is sovereign over his promised blessings that are certain. Second, God is sovereign over His promised blessings that are eternal. Finally, God is sovereign of over His promised blessings that are irrevocable.

As you continue to observe Lent, reflect on your sins, even deception, considering God’s promised blessings that are certain, eternal, and irrevocable. You can fool some of the people some of the time but God none of the time. Don’t challenge Him, “Catch me if you Can.” God is sovereign. He can and will.

Deception will not thwart God’s plans because God is sovereign over his promised blessings that are certain. We see Jacob’s “big lie,” yet God’s sovereign plan is achieved in verses 1-26. The main verses are 19 and 27.

But first, here’s some background to fill in. Isaac is blind and near death. His final act as father is to pronounce orally “the blessing” over the son who will lead the family after his death. He has chosen Esau—his favorite son—but God has chosen Jacob because of Esau’s careless regard for the birthright, selling it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Before the pronouncement, Isaac sends Esau out to kill some wild game to make him—of all things—a bowl of stew as his last meal. Then Isaac will give the “blessing” over Esau. Wife Rebekah hears the plan, dresses up Jacob—her favorite—to feel and smell like Esau, to get the blessing instead. She even cooks a meal of goat to taste like wild game. Isaac is suspicious. Here comes Jacob’s lie as he approaches his blind father:

The Lie:

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.”

God’s Sovereignty:

27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent of his clothing, he blessed him…

Even thou Jacob lived up to his name—the trickster—and told the “big lie,” the sovereign plan of God to give both the birthright and the blessing to him came to pass because he showed more regard for the will of God. It happened just as God had said to Rebekah in Gen. 23: “…the older will serve the younger.”

God’s sovereignty has always triumphed over man’s shortcomings, bringing to bear the truth of Romans 8:28:

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

Not that all things are good—like our shortcoming of lying, favoritism, and carelessness, all seen in this story—but God can use them to bring about His plans to bless those who love Him and are chosen by grace to be an instrument of His will.

Shortcomings vs. Sovereignty

· God used Peter, despite his denial of Christ, to build the first church based on his confession that Christ is Lord.

· God used Paul, despite his persecution of the church, to write two-thirds of the New Testament, and spread the gospel on three mission trips.

· God used Thomas, who doubted Christ’s resurrection, to evangelize the far-east to include India.

There are some principles and applications we can draw from Jacob and his family’s shortcomings. They can be our flaws that run headlong into God’s sovereign will:

· Principle and application 1: A fleshly appetite and failing senses can cause spiritual blindness. Our flesh can be deceiving. Go with your sixth sense—the spiritual urgings of the Holy Spirit—rather than your five senses.

· Principle and application 2: Favoritism can be flawed. Beware of having family favorites. Isaac favored Esau. Rebekah favored Jacob. Go with God’s unmerited favor—grace—in the execution of His will. Grace never fails. That’s why it is called amazing.

Church, as you continue to observe Lent, reflect on your sins, even deception, considering God’s promised blessings that are certain. You can fool some of the people some of the time but God none of the time. Don’t bother to say to Him, “Catch me if you Can.” God is sovereign. He can.

Second, deception will not thwart God’s plans because God is sovereign over His promised blessings that are eternal. We see God’s eternal sovereignty connecting past, present and future promises in verses 27-29, particularly verse 29. Isaac speaks over Jacob what God has already spoke and will speak in the future:

May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.” Genesis 27:29

Isaac’s blessing on Jacob connects, looking back, to the blessing of Abraham and his seed in Genesis 12: 3:

Connecting back:

3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse Gen. 12:3

Isaac’s blessing also connects, looking forward, to a prophecy Jacob will someday make to one of his twelve sons—Judah—that a future seed will come through him wo will be an eternal. The scepter will not him. His brothers will bow down and bless him. Similar quotes in Numbers 24 also connect the promise of an eternal king through David to Christ. This King is the Seed of a woman who will crush the head of the snake in Genesis 3:15.

Connecting forward:

“8As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you. 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah… Gen. 49: 8,10

19 A ruler will be established from Jacob; he (David) will destroy the remains of the city. Num. 24:19

The point is: the trickery of man like Jacob and Isaac will not thwart God’s plan of the coming of Seed-son—King Christ.

Church, as you continue to observe Lent, reflect on your sins, yes even deception, considering God’s promised blessings that are eternal. You can fool some of the people some of the time but God none of the time. Don’t bother to say to Him, “Catch me if you Can.” God is sovereign. He can.

Finally, deception will not thwart God’s plans because God is sovereign of over his promised blessings that are irrevocable. Isaac cannot take back what God has intended to be given to Jacob. Jacob’s reality is he will have the blessing. Esau’s reality is that he will serve Jacob. We see that irrevocable reality in verses 30-40 summarized in verse 40 as Esau now pleads his father for a left-over blessing. But what is done is done:

40 You will live by your sword, but you will serve your brother.When you grow restless, you will tear off his yoke…Gen. 27:40

Deceit always brings negative consequences. For the family, revenge and separation will rule the day. Esau is understandably upset over the blessing switch. He wants revenge. To avoid a violent end, Rebekah ushers Jacob out the back door as angry Esau enters the front. She sends Jacobs to her brother Laban in Haran to hang out there till things cool down. She would later lie to Isaac telling him that she sent Jacob away to steer him away from marrying one of the local pagan women. Lying and trickery seems to come naturally to this family. Jacob will soon learn this the hard way. The player will be played.

Deceit always brings consequences, but God can use shortcomings like deceit for His purpose. When Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit, sold him into slavery, then lied to Jacob, their father, that wild animals killed him, God’s sovereignty orchestrated Joseph’s fate. He became a prince in Egypt in control of food distribution in a worldwide famine. He became the savior of his hungry brothers to include Judah through whom King Christ would come. This prompted Joseph to say of God:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Gen. 50:20

God can take a bad thing and use it for good. I have seen firsthand, the consequences of deception between brothers used for “good”. A true story, Johnnie Roy Houston (pictured left), who spent twenty-six years in jail for a crime Johnnie Ray—his twin brother—committed, had to choose: revenge or forgiveness. He chose forgiveness because he experienced the forgiving grace of God—a forgiving fire. His story is chronicled in the book I wrote: “A Forgiving Fire,” awaiting a publisher with the faith to print it.

Church, as you continue to observe Lent, reflect on your sins, even of deception and their consequences, considering God’s promises and blessings that are irrevocable. They can’t be taken back. You can fool some of the people some of the time but God none of the time. Don’t bother to challenge Him, “Catch me if you can.” God is sovereign. He can.

CONCLUSION

Can the sins of men thwart the Sovereign plans of God? The deception will not thwart God’s plans because His blessings are certain. Second, the His promises are eternal. Finally, the God’s promises are irrevocable. God can’t be derailed by deception.

Don’t fathom you can fool God. Don’t challenge to say to Him, “Catch me if you can.” He can. He already has—by his sovereign grace—on Easter morning.