Isaac Blesses Jacob
27:1 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.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 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.”
5 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, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 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. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”
14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 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. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 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.” 20 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.” 21 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.” 22 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.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 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.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 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!
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth
and plenty of grain and wine.
29 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!”
30 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. 31 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.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 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.” 34 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!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 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?” 37 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?” 38 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.
39 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.
40 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.”
41 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.” 42 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. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 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?”
46 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?” (ESV)
Gen 27:40 You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
More seeds of the conflict that rages today between the Jews and the people around them. Jacob and Esau, brothers foretold by God to be at odds with each other. This enmity will not be fixed by any ‘Mideast peace plan’ but only by God. He is using the evil actions of these people groups to execute Hie perfect plan. Lord,, please come soon. In the meantime, let me live for You by sharing the gospel – please open doors for me to share You today.
This is another story where lying ends up hurting everyone. Isaac pretends to be Esau to get his father’s blessing. So he lies to his dad about who he is. Then when he is asked how he got the animal to make the food he said he hunted it, when really it was only from his flock. He didn’t even cook it, his mother did. This makes Esau mad. His brother has already taken his birthright, and now this? If this were me it would make me pretty mad too. But Esau gets very angry and wants to kill Isaac. That’s not good at all. Now Jacob flees to his uncle’s house. All this is becuase Jacob listened to some bad advice and lied. Let’s use this as an example of how lies can seem harmless, but they can make you end up in a world of hurt. It’s not good, and take it from these brothers, God really hates it.
Rebekah may have been the ‘mastermind’ behind this deception, but Jacob willingly played his part. When offered the chance to sinfully acquire the blessing, he listened to unrighteous counsel and went along with it. He probably had plenty of excuses to justify it (such as ‘he didn’t want to offend his mother’ or ‘it should have been his anyway’), but no excuse can really be used to make sin ok. What he should have done – and what we need to do – is flee from those who are giving sinful advice instead of going along with them. When we are confronted with such counsel – usually from friends – we need to have the discernment recognize sinful choices and the determination to oppose them rather than going along with them.
That said, this passage once again shows how God can use even sinful situations for good – the advancement of the (future) Jewish race!
These verses are saying that even the closest of people whether friends or family can deceive you into doing wrong. In turn you can affect other people with the decisions that you make. There are consequences to our actions. You should choose this day who you will listen to and take advice from. The first person you should go to is God and His truth.
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing.”
Yep, just like i said last time, Jacob AND Rebekah tricked Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing. Now Esau holds a grudge against Jacob now and Esau wants to kill him! So now Rebekah, as if she’s done enough already, steps in and tells Jacob to flee to Laban. This story of Jacob and Esau shows us a lot about sinful nature.
Great comment Mike, I’m thinking the same thing. Jacob didn’t have to listen to what his mother was telling him to do yet he wanted the blessing so he gave into the temptation. And also like Mike said, we can learn from this story and be able to make the right decisions in our own lives wen temptation arises.
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
It has already been pointed out that Jacob and Rebekah sinned by lying to obtain the birthright from Isaac, but I think Esau’s response to the situation is worth mentioning. In Gen. 25, Esau willingly gave his birthright to Jacob in exchange for some stew. That foolish decision showed that he gave more care to instant, earthly desires, than to future, eternal ones (Esau’s birthright would have included the covenant promises that Isaac inherited from Abraham). In verse 36 Esau blames Isaac for deceiving him on both his birthright and blessing, but the truth is that Esau is to blame for trading his blessing away. In the ancient Near East birthright and blessing both involved the inheritance of the firstborn and so by giving away his birthright, Esau sealed his fate with losing his future inheritance. My prayer today is that I do not respond to sin in my life and the consequences it causes by blaming it on others. The godly response to sin is to confess it to God and repent, turning from it and toward living righteously.
Another example of how lack of trust in the Lord and taking matters into our own hands results in sin and consequences. Why is it that we don’t trust in the faithfulness of God. Rebekah had so countless reasons to leave it up to God but she instead decided to manipulate the situation herself. Let us take heed to this example of sin and strive to depend on the Lord and trust His plan!
NEW BLOG ON GODLINESS :)
Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.
Jacob refers to the LORD as his father’s God…interesting. In Gen 28:20-22 we again find Jacob admitting that the Lord is not yet his God. You would think growing up in a religious home, and witnessing your father’s faith would make you a follower as well…wrong! Here is a great example of what so many of us have had to face, someone else’s faith does not save us. We can live in a Christian home, go to church, read our bible, have Christian friends and not be saved. Jacob may have deceived and been deceived by others but he was not fooled when it came to his relationship with the Lord.
As we remember two days ago in Genesis 25:23 it said “The LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’”
How quickly did that come true in chapter 27!?
29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
Although Jacob fulfilled the prophesy in chapter 25 by deceptively stealing Esau’s blessing, he went about it the wrong way. It reminded my of when Abraham tried to fulfill the Lord’s promise of a son with Hagar instead of waiting for the Lords timing and having his son by Sarah. The same is true with Jacob, he took matters into his own hands when he should have waited for the Lords blessing and timing. We need to be always relying on God’s perfect timing and trusting Him to provide for our every need!
I agree with Vanessa! We need to stop trying to take things into our own hands. Time and time again God shows us that if we trust in Him we will be rewarded, but time and time again we disobey Him and wind up in sin.
Once again I agree with my Beth who frequently comments on similar verses to me. I guess that is not such a bad thing since we are demonstrating like-mindedness.
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
Esau willing gave away his birthright to Jacob in Genesis 25:31-33, it wasn’t taken from him. Too often we blame others for our sin instead of taking responsibility. Forgiveness is offered to those who confess their sins with the intention of turning away from it (1 John 1:9). If we are not honest enough to admit we are wrong when we sin we will remain in our sin with a propensity for more and will be further distanced from the purification and blessing that come through forgiveness.
This is such a sad chapter full of sin and deceit. I dont like it very much but we should learn from this chapter.
Man is sinful. Jacob clearly shows this in this chapter by deceiving his father and robbing his brother of his rightful birthright. We need to be careful we dont let our greed control us.
Jacob just totally gave an awesome connection!!! great job Jacob!
And I’m loving how we are also going over this in AWANAs with the little kids. Bonnie Hamilton has taught me so much!
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.
3 Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
The classic story. Esau gave it to Jacob, giving away his blessing. God has a plan for both of them and it just followed through like this. Sure it might be something bad, but look at what happens in the future? Like what Mike said, bad turns to good. And look, Isaac was about to give that blessing to Esau and the desert to Jacob! That would be no bueno. and I think it’s interesting how it all played out. Isaac, like Bonnie said, must have lost some feeling in his hands because there is a big difference in human hair and goat hair. Also what I noticed is taste. Goats taste a lot different than wild game and he didn’t even notice! It’s all apart of God’s plan. Thank you Lord that you have a specific plan for each and everyone of us and that we can have our trust in you! :D
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I’m a man with smooth skin.
12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
I’ve never really got this verse. I mean, Rebekah was a woman of GOD, but she still lied to and tricked her own husband. Doesn’t seem like something that a woman of GOD would do. But we all know how it ends. Jacob flees, Esau’s angry, then they make up. Shows that GOD uses even sin for good. See ya at small group.
What a great chapter. This really shows how when we are decieved or put in any hard situation, we need to turn to God and give it to him. God is great and will take care of us ALWAYS! :)
I was really diappointed in Rebekah’s deceitful behavior in this chapter. When her husband is on his deathbed, she encourages her favorite son to lie and take advantage of his father. Vanessa’s comment pretty much says it all.
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Sort of a bummer that Esau was tricked out of his blessing. It all shows how God can turn something bad like this into something really good (The father of the Israelites). Do we keep on sinning though because God can use it for good? No! Because sin is bad and is detestable by God. If you didn’t make it to P. Mike’s sermon then you should check it out.
Brothers are even more harsh back then, than they are today. Most brothers today just end up wrestling or punching each other and just get angry and end up getting grounded. But here Isaac had taken Esaus birthright and his blessing. Esau didn’t want to punch him, but he wanted to kill him. We should be thankful that our lives aren’t more like back then. This is plain old jealousy, just like the story of Cain and Abel.
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
Wow, okay…isn’t this flat out lying? I know that the prophey came true, but i belive what Jacob said, in that he should’ve waited for God’s prophecy.
I agree with Vanessa also God has everything in his hands and we need to trust him.
Wow I almost forgot to comment on SOTD!?!?!
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Esau heart is not right with the Lord, because Jacob got the blessing Esau wants to kill him. Esau should just got over it and forgiven him for wrongfully recieving the blessing that he was supposed to get.
6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7′Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’
I thought it was kinda sad how Esau’s own mother would easedrop on his conversation and then go on to tell Jacob so he can recieve the blessing from his father. how could Isaac trust Rebekah for doing that? provoking Jacob to lie just to get what he wants, even though it doesn’t belong to him. just because someone tells us to do something, we can’t feel pressured, we need to stick to what we believe in and not let it lead to sin. that’s why we need to surround ourselves with Godly people.
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing.”
Although it was Jacob that went and lied to his father to get his blessings and Rebekah had told him to do this. But Jacob should have not lied like that to Isaac, his father, but should have just not done it and been happy for his brother Esua.
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
But in the end Esau, (as Kyle said above me) his heart is not in a good place, wanting to kill Jacob. He should just forgive Jacob for decieving their father to get Esau’s blessings from Isaac.
This passage is a perfect example of what we heard from Pastor Mike on Sunday. God ordains all things, good and bad…but man is ultimately resonsible for his/her sin. It was all part of God’s plan, and he used it for good. This in no way makes Jacob’s sin acceptable, and does not make him any less responsible for the sin, but it was used for good by the grace of God. Our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness!
I agree with Jacob’s comments. I also think it is interesting how many times Isaac questioned Jacob. He had his doubts but couldn’t prove it
numero uno: favoritism is sin!! Because Rebekka favored Jacob over Esau, look at what she created!!A BIG MESS!!she wanted Issiac to bless Jacob over Esau because she favored him more- SIN SIN SIN!!
Basically she took things into her own hands, and even though things turned out for the better in the end(because of Gods righteousness), it was still lying and deceit that overswept this situation.
I dont really know how to say it in much more detail…but God knows our future, we dont have to try to mess up His plan to make things go according to our timing…i mean seriously!We might be satisfied for like a day, but then everything will go wrong. God knows what He is doing! He knows sooo much more than we could ever know! i would rather lean on Gods understanding than my own…it is in the bible “…trust God, lean not on your own understanding”
I think this chapter stresses the truth: God knows what He is doing!!!
and favoritism is a SIN!
Maranatha; come Lord come!
I cant wait to fall facedown in front of my Creator!!!I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT!
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
This is a great reminder for us to not be unequaly yoked. It is not only detestible to God, but it also affects others around us that are in close proximity to us and our sin.
like hunters comment!!!^
24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “I am,” he replied.
Simply stated, leave God in control. Lying to Isaac ultimately proved to be a failure, because Jacob was punished further into his life–he was deceived and was forced to labor for several more years before he could marry the one he loved.
It’s easy to read this chapter and think “Wow, Rebecca is deceitful, shame on her!” and kind of dismiss her. But all that is happening here is that she doesn’t like what is happening and decides to take things into her own hands and see if that will be any better. We do this regularly!
We need to make sure that we don’t just shake our heads at Rebecca and Jacob like they are doing a shocking thing we would never do. Let’s make sure we are always praying and living according to God’s will not our own.
24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “I am,” he replied.
Jacob tries to take things into his own hands after being tempted by his mother. This was a very bad thing to do because it resulted in lying, and cheating Esau out of the blessing that he was supposed to receive. This shows that we need to let God be in control of our lives instead of trying to control it ourselves.
I think it was interesting that whoever Isaac blessed, that is who got it. Even though Isaac wanted to bless the other son, the words were spoken and it was given to Jacob, I wonder how that works ???
24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “I am,” he replied.
This sin was obviously willful, it is heartbreaking to see someone willfully sin….
Hey God’s will gets done….
not a big fan of jacob lieing to his father but hey it worked out for God’s glory! I am toltaly not saying though that because it showed how God had a plan in all of this that makes what Jacob did ok cuz it wasn’t
Ugh, a lot of lying in this chapter. It’s sad to see people in a close-knit family so willing to decieve one another. We need to keep in mind that God’s will will be done, and we don’t need to help it along. Like Pastor Mike said on Sunday, sinning more isn’t aiding God’s plan, though he does use people’s evil for good. Rebekah and Jacob will have to deal with the consequences of their actions.
We should be always relying on the Lord’s guidance. When we take it upon ourselves to live our lives, we end up being dragged into sin. Let’s pray to have God lead us out of temptation.
Goodness gracious, sooo decietful. This reminds me to not dwell on what i lack and what others have or will recieve. God has His own plan for my life and if i interfere and do things my way i will getpunished and i wont recieve the full benefit/gift my heavenly father has planned out for me. I would much rather be paitent then ruin the road Christ has marked out for me.
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
Ya, like some people have already said, Jacob should have just trusted God. God had promised that the older would serve the younger, but instead of patiently waiting for God’s promise, Jacob deceived and lied to make it happen. We need to know that we can always trust God’s promises and should not resort to sin to make them happen. God will take care of us, and if we seek Him first, He will provide for all our other needs as well.
This passage was very sad to see how that two brothers can come against each other over a blessing. One brother who deserved to have the blessing was taken away by the other brother. Both ended up sinning because of one being decietful and the other wanting revenge. This is a leason learned to not take matters in our own hands but to put our faith in God to forgive and let him be our avenger.
I appreciated Christa’s comment! It is easy to throw Rebecca and Jacob under the bus for lying, but are we saying that we don’t ever do this same thing? Do we manipulate or deceive people in our family to get what we want? Let’s be sure not just to look down on others for their sin, but to examine our own hearts and make sure we are not in sin ourselves.
Another tendency in this chapter that we also fall into is this: Lying always seems like a good idea at the time. We justify it somehow. We think it will be “worth it” in the end. But the simple reality is that lying is never worth it. Yes, God will remain faithful in spite of our sin, but our sin still has consequences! Next time we are tempted to lie, we should remember that while it may seem promising in the moment, it will to bad consequences.
this chapter just shows how deceitful and full of lies men can be. We can even lie to the ones that we are the closest too. We need to be on the watch that we are not leading lifes of lies and deceit but that which will glorify God and show others our relationship with Him. Prayin for the lunches tmrw!!!!!!!
Pastor Mike’s message this weekend made a great point about how God uses bad for good. I saw all kinds of deception in this chapter but God definitely used it for good as we see in the coming chapters. This definitely doesn’t mean, as Pastor Mike said, that we go out and look for ways to sin so that God can use it for good. We should always be looking to do what’s right and holy in God’s eyes.
20…”The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.
God provides, God blesses, and God ensures we who are His servants, will to succeed. Thanks be to God or none of us would ever have success!