Scripture: When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”
So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
So he went in 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; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 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.” As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Genesis 27:1-46 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Isaac’s men unearthed a wellspring, only to have local herders quarrel over its ownership rights. So he dug another well, which they also clashed over. Finally, he relocated and dug a third well without backlash. So he named it Rehoboth (meaning “broad places”) and declared the Lord had made room for them to be fruitful in the land. From there, he relocated to Beersheba, where the Lord reassured him of the covenant promise. So Isaac encamped there.
Meanwhile, seeing how the God of Isaac was prospering him, Abimelech and two of his counsel visited Isaac to seek a peace accord. Graciously, Isaac prepared a feast to celebrate. In the morning they exchanged oaths, and Isaac sent them on their way. That same day, some of Isaac’s herders returned with good news: they had dug a well and found water. Appropriately, Isaac called it Shibah (sounding like “oath”). Consequently, the settlement is called Beersheba (meaning “well of oath”) to this day.
Today’s reading covers Jacob’s second deceitful act—this time to steal the eldest son’s blessing. Rebekah overhears Isaac directing Esau to kill and prepare some game for him with the promise of a blessing. While Esau is away, Rebekah directs Jacob to retrieve two goats, which she will prepare. Jacob will then bring the meat to Isaac and receive Esau’s blessing. Concerned about Isaac cursing him if this scheme fails, Jacob questions how his smooth skin could fool his father’s touch. Rebekah assures Jacob she will take responsibility for any fallout and orders him to do as directed.
With the food prepared, Rebekah places Esau’s best garments on Jacob and wraps the hide of young goats on his hands and neck. So Jacob draws near his father, whose vision is dim, and carries out the ruse. Still, Jacob questions how his son could have quickly found, killed, and prepared the meat. With quick wit, Jacob gives credit to Yahweh for success. Then Isaac tells his son to draw near to feel his skin and confirm it is Esau. Jacob draws near, and Isaac feels his hands and declares that the voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are hairy like Esau’s. Nevertheless, he blesses his son.
Still uncertain, Isaac asks again if this son before him is Esau, and Jacob confirms. So Isaac instructs his son to serve him the game and wine—which he does. Isaac then tells his son to draw even closer to receive a kiss. As Jacob leans into his father, Isaac smells his garments and is convinced that it is Esau. So, he further blesses Jacob to prosper in wealth and authority (including his brothers’ submission) through God blessing and cursing any according to how they treat him.
Soon after, Esau arrives, prepares, and brings his game to Isaac. Esau then calls Isaac to rise, eat, and bless his son. But Isaac asks who speaks to him, and Esau assures his father he is his firstborn. Distressed, Isaac trembles, questions who posed as Esau earlier, and informs Esau the blessing is irreversible. In a wave of emotion, Esau begs Isaac to bless him nevertheless. Isaac regretfully informs Esau that Jacob deceived him and stole Esau’s blessing.
Seething with anger, Esau declares that Jacob is rightly named, for he has stolen both Esau’s birthright and blessing. Undeterred, Esau begs Isaac to offer any blessing, so Isaac proclaims Esau will dwell in a less fertile land and live by the sword, serving under his brother until Esau becomes restless and breaks free. Hearing this, Esau despises Jacob even more and murmurs that he will kill his brother when Isaac passes. But Rebekah overhears Esau and instructs Jacob to flee to her brother Laban’s home in Haran until Esau’s anger subsides, upon which she will send for Jacob. Rebekah then primes Isaac to send Jacob away to marry a kin—rather than a detestable Hittite woman.
Takeaway: Despite Rebekah and Jacob’s ungodly behavior, the outcome fulfilled Yahweh’s words: “The older shall serve the younger” (25:23). Additionally, Moses wants his audience to see how the meaning of Jacob’s name is manifested from birth (grasping his brother’s heel) to stealing Esau’s birthright and blessing. Moreover, being a skillful writer, Moses also ties together the red stew that Esau impetuously consumed at the price of this birthright with the “delicious food” again consumed to lose his blessing. Also, Moses wants his readers to see the continuity of the covenant blessings. Where Yahweh pronounces that he will bless Abraham by blessing and cursing those who do likewise to him (12:3), Isaac blesses Jacob similarly: “Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” (v.29c) Indeed, the point of this irreversible blessing is that no human can thwart God’s blessings, for they are irrevocable and will come to pass.
Our takeaway? There are three. First, when our carnal appetites exceed our affection for God, they will master us and cause much grief. In this instance, food is the idol, and it has caused much heartache. So, we must take whatever measures necessary (e.g., prayer and accountability groups) to find help to gain greater self-control.
Secondly, when we show favoritism within the family or other social groups, nothing good comes of it. And when we scheme to promote favorites over others, our machinations often backfire. For Rebekah, while Jacob would succeed in gaining his father’s blessing (even more desired than the birthright), she lost her treasured son’s companionship for the remainder of her life. So what’s the balance? It is not an issue of fairness. What one person perceives as fair, another may deem as unfair. We serve and give according to the needs of others. Thus, the goal is to seek the welfare of all of our family and community according to God’s will, beginning with prayer and then acting per the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Then, if others misinterpret our words or actions as favoritism, the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth in due time.
Lastly, we need not be concerned when sinful behavior thwarts God’s blessings. Why? Because our God is the God who redeems. When it seems that those who scheme for harm are getting away with their behavior, or when we have harmed others, we place our hope in God, who will redeem the wrongs with blessings of spiritual growth and healing—as he will do for Jacob.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for making us one in Christ where there is no favoritism. And we thank you that your blessings are irrevocable and that you redeem our sinful behavior, as evidenced in the gift of your Son. So please help us to prioritize our affections for you and your Son and submit to your Holy Spirit when he convicts us of our inordinate attachments to worldly pleasures and people by finding the help we need through the community of believers to live upright lives seeking the welfare of all those you bring across our paths. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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