Isaac # 9 - The Blessing

Genesis 27:1–5 KJV (WS)

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

Introduction

Isaac senses that he is old and about to die.

He is the same age that his brother, Ishmael was when he died.

In reality, Isaac will live another 43 years.

So, Isaac, being a man, probably has a cold and he’s overreacting.

Before he dies, he has a request for his firstborn, Esau.

He asks Esau to make his favorite venison meal so that he can have it one more time before he dies.

If he will do this for him, Isaac will give Esau a blessing.

This blessing is basically the passing on of an inheritance of all that Esau has.

Now, this brings up a whole host of questions about what did Isaac know or not know.

Did he know of God’s prophecy to Rebekah that the older should serve the younger? (Genesis 25:23 “23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”)

Did he know that Jacob and Esau had made a deal whereby Esau traded his birthright to Jacob? (Genesis 25:33 “33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.”)

Did he not care that he was about to bless his son who had gone and married two Canaanite women?

A case could be made that he was unaware of the first two points.

Most commentators believe that this is unlikely.

Most books say that Isaac must have known.

Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume these things had not been communicated to him just for now.

Isaac was well aware of the fact that Esau’s marriages should have disqualified him from receiving the blessing.

Lest we be too hard on Isaac, he is not the last parent to overlook the faults of a child because they are the favorite.

This isn’t the only issue at play here.

Rebekah hears Isaac speaking to Esau.

She knows and remembers what God had promised to her favorite child, Jacob.

She also might not have known about the exchange between the boys, but she did know the prophecy that God had given her before the boys were born.

As Esau leaves to hunt the venison, Rebekah goes to find Jacob.

Rebekah devises a scheme to attain the blessing for Jacob.

She first informs him of Isaac and Esau’s plan.

This is a betrayal for Jacob.

If his father knew about the prophecy and the exchange, but planned to give Esau the blessing anyway, how is he supposed to feel about dear old dad?

Esau certainly knew that he had traded away his birthright, and yet he goes along with his father’s plan to bless him.

She tells Jacob to go and collect 2 goats from the flocks for her to prepare.

Goat meat and venison are obviously not the same.

But, Rebekah is confident that she can prepare it in such a way that Isaac won’t notice it.

Jacob isn’t as concerned about his father figuring out that the meat is from the wrong animal.

He’s more concerned with the physiological differences between him and Esau.

Esau was a hairy man and Jacob was a smooth man.

What if Isaac feels Jacob and curses him rather than blesses him.

Rebekah snaps back.

Upon me be thy curse.

Now, do as I say!

Jacob rushes off to get the kids from the flock.

After preparing the meat, Rebekah “borrows” some of Esau’s clothes and puts them on Jacob.

Then she attaches the skins of the goats on his hands and neck.

Now I have to stop right there.

How hairy was this guy?

You’ve got to attach goat skins to your body so that you feel like your brother?

With food in his hands and carcases on his hands, Jacob is ready.

Jacob goes in to his father.

Right off the bad there is an issue.

Jacob goes in and says, “my father.”

Something doesn’t sound right.

If Jacob had sounded like Esau, Isaac would have said immediately, “Esau, you are back.”

Instead, he says “who are you?”

Jacob does his best to recover; he tells his dad to sit and eat the food so that he can bless him.

Isaac is still not convinced.

He asks Jacob how he has been able to come back so quickly.

Jacob brings God into his deception by crediting the Lord for the swiftness of his hunt.

The more that Jacob speaks, though, the more that Isaac is struggling to accept that this is really the voice of Esau.

He asks Jacob to come close so that he can feel him and tell whether he was Esau or not.

He even says, “the voice is Jacob’s but the hands are Esau’s.

With that Jacob’s deception is nearly complete.

Isaac tells him to bring the food so that he can eat before he blesses him.

Jacob does.

After Isaac has eaten his fill, he tells Jacob to come and kiss him so that he can bless him.

Jacob does, and while he is close to his father, Isaac sniffs him.

That’s what it says in v27.

He wanted to see if the clothes Jacob was wearing had that outdoorsy smell on them.

Which, since they came out of Esau’s dirty laundry, they did.

So, Isaac delivers the blessing.

The first part of the blessing centers around the blessing of God.

The second part, though, is more damning, especially if Isaac knew of God’s prophecy regarding the older son serving the younger son.

He starts by saying let people serve thee.

Then he says be lord over thy brethren.

Finally he says let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee.

God had specifically said that this was supposed to be Jacob’s blessing.

If Isaac knew this was a definite matter of disobedience.

The final part of the blessing is also concerning.

It could have been just a nice thing to say, but not in this family.

Isaac is trying to bless Esau with the blessing that god gave Abraham.

Esau was not the one who should have received this blessing, that was supposed to be Jacob.

No matter how you look at it, Isaac was not acting in the right way.

Jacob receives his blessing and gets out as quick as possible.

As Jacob is leaving, Esau is returning

He succeeded in his hunt.

He has prepared the meal and he goes in to his father, blissfully unaware of what has happened.

He announces his entrance and tells his dad to sit up and get ready to eat and bless.

Isaac is not as happy to receive Esau as he should be.

He asks Esau who he is.

Esau is perplexed in his response, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau.

Isaac, when he hears this begins to tremble very exceedingly.

Isaac knows he has been deceived.

He inquires as to where the person has gone who had just left.

He had brought venison and he had been blessed.

This blessing was certain, it could not be taken back.

Esau cried with a great and exceeding cry.

He begs his father to bless him.

Isaac admits he has made Jacob the lord of his brethren.

Which is what he was supposed to do in the first place.

Yes, Jacob and Rebekah demonstrated a lack of faith in conspiring to deceive Isaac.

But, Isaac and perhaps Esau had conspired to disobey God.

Why?

Because Isaac favored Esau more than Jacob?

Esau went along with it because he was a carnal man who showed little concern for the things of God throughout his life.

Some have pointed to this story as proof of dysfunctional home.

Could also be seen as a warning that even good homes can go astray when we pursue our own ideas and our own ways instead of God’s?

Labeling this family as always messed up, gives us an out.

We can look at our families and say well we aren’t always like that.

If this is an instance of a normally faithful family getting something like this really wrong, then we are all challenged to take every day in faith.

Application

The situation with the blessing shows us that allowing the flesh or satan to get a foothold in our home, even in just one decision can have devastating consequences.

This is why we must stay connected to God every day.

You just don’t know when a situation will arise where long-lasting consequences may come from a poor decision.

I don’t know how unbelievers make it.

I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit in my life.

What would I do without His help in guiding me into the truth?

Conclusion