Genesis 27
Notes
Transcript
Jacob’s Blessing
Jacob’s Blessing
Just to catch us back up to speed to where we left off, Chapter 25 covered Esau and Jacob being born and Esau giving up his birthright in their earlier years for a bowl of stew. Showing he wasn’t taking his relationship with God seriously. Chapter 26 that James covered last week covered more of Isaac’s story in his middle age. Genesis 27 and we are going to see the later years of Isaac’s life, and we are picking back up with Esau and Jacob.
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.
And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
So see here, Isaac is older now, his eyes aren't very clear, he is hard at seeing, he is saying here in verse 2 that he doesn't know when his death will be but we can tell by context that it could be any day now.
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
Remember back
And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Isaac favored his firstborn son Esau because he had a taste for venison and Esau was a hunter of the field.
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.
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.
So Rebekah is telling her younger son Jacob what is in the works here. Remember, back when Jacob and Esau were still in their mothers womb, the Lord told Rebekah that the younger son would rule over the elder. So Rebekah has information from God that Isaac is not aware of.
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
This right here is a great example as to why you should never read chapters or verses of the Bible out of context. If you were to start here in chapter 27, It would look like Rebekah was trying to setup Jacob to steal Esau’s blessing. Remember back in chapter 25, for one, once again God told Rebekah firsthand that Jacob the younger would rule over Esau the elder. Which was very uncommon in this day in time, and secondly, Esau swore over his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew during a famine. Notice when Isaac was giving Esau instruction, not once did Esau speak up and tell his father he already swore over his birthright to Jacob previously. Rebekah and Jacob have information that Isaac is unaware of. Not to mention, we saw at the end of chapter 26 where Esau took 2 Hittite women as wives which would corrupt or “stain” the bloodline through which Christ would come. Esau in every aspect has given up his blessing himself.
So anyway, back to Rebekah giving Jacob his instructions.
And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
So she is telling Jacob the same instructions Isaac told Esau, except to get the best lamb of their flock and we will see why here in a minute.
But when I was first studying this chapter it seemed very familiar.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
So here in Exodus, we are seeing the instruction of Passover. We just remembered Passover a few months ago and what they did during Passover was to take the lamb that was without blemish and use it as a sacrifice long story short. Kind of what we are seeing here. Rebekah is instructing Jacob to take 2 kid goats which are lambs, and use them for a savoury meat for Isaac’s blessing instead of venison which he requested. I just thought it was really neat to see those similarities here. Seeing the pure lambs being used for sacrifice for blessings.
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
Jacob is telling his mother that because Isaac cant see very well, that he will feel him and tell he isn't Esau because Esau is a red hairy man like we saw in chapter 25, and Jacob is a smooth man. But Jacob is worried about Isaac finding out he isn't Esau and cursing him over it. Remember Jacob and Rebekah have information from God personally that Isaac obviously is unaware of at this time.
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
Rebekah knows from God that Jacob is to carry on that covenant. She's not worried about being cursed because this is Gods will. She is giving him reassurance that if anything goes wrong she is to blame.
And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
Rebekah is disguising Jacob as his brother Esau by making him wear his brothers clothes. Remember Isaac cant see very well at all. But he still has feel, smell.
And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
Rebekah used the skins from the lambs and covered Jacob with them to make Jacob feel hairy like his brother Esau
Another neat analogy here, Jesus Christ is the incarnate word of God, and here in John
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John is calling Christ the “Lamb of God” and we are to surround ourselves with the Word of God which is Christ, metaphor, Covering ourselves with the Lamb of God kinda the same thing we are are seeing here with Jacob, He is covering his self with that pure Lamb in order to receive the blessing or covenant from God.
And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
So just by hearing Jacobs voice he can tell something isn't right.
And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.
James covered this in chapter 26, there was a famine over the land at this time. They didn't have Walmart or dollar generals to hurry and pickup groceries. There was a famine taking place, and also they had to physically go out and hunt their meat.
And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
Isaac felt that goat skin that Rebekah covered Jacobs hands with and they felt hairy like Esau’s hands.
And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
Once again, Isaac trying to reassure that this is Esau he is blessing and passing this covenant down too.
And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the 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:
He smelled the clothes of Esau that Jacob was wearing and it smelled of the field where Esau dwelt. He was a man of the field.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,
And the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of corn and wine:
Isaac is passing on the blessing. That covenant that was made between Abram and God, from generation to generation. The term “the dew of heaven” meaning being able to sustain agriculture. and the term “ the fatness of the earth” meaning the best of what could be grown from the earth.
Let people serve thee,
And nations bow down to thee:
Be lord over thy brethren,
And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee:
Cursed be every one that curseth thee,
And blessed be he that blesseth thee.
So be lord “lower case L” over your brothers showing Jacobs predominance over others. Remember this covenant is between him and God.
And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
Uh oh, here's where things start getting tense!
And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for
me?
Jacob meaning heel grabber or supplanter/
Supplanter:someone or something that takes the place of another, often by force or scheming so when we take it back to the manuscripts, Esau is kinda using a play on words here talking about his brother Jacob.
Jacob never took Esau’s birthright. We covered this in chapter 25, Esau traded it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Showing that Esau didn't take it serious in the first place. Esau wasn't necessarily a “bad” person. But all through this story here not once did Esau ever show he had a relationship with God. He never really shows his faith, and to me even in this current situation, it almost seems like he is praying to his Earthly father Isaac for a blessing other than God. Showing he is a man of the flesh and not so much a man of God.
And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
Isaac has past down the covenant from God to Jacob already. Once again kinda showing Esau praying to Isaac for a blessing and not God. When we say Isaac “blessed Jacob” all he was doing was passing down his blessing from God.
And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,
Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above;
So Isaac is passing him down somewhat of a blessing, although it isn't the same blessing he passed to Jacob, it does have similar element.
And by thy sword shalt thou live,
And shalt serve thy brother;
And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion,
That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Isaac is pretty much prophesying here that Esau’s descendants which are the Edomites, will live through war and physical violence.
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
So he knows his father Isaac is living in his last days, so he is already planning on taking out his brother Jacob.
We aren't going to flip there, but in 2nd Kings chapter 8 we are going to see the Edomites revolt from under the hands of Judah. Judah representing Jacobs descendants. So all of this is already being prophesied from Isaac.
The further we get along and along were going to see these descendants and great nations and how they all tie back to these origins.
And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
So Rebekah their mom overheard him saying he was going to slay his brother so she tells Jacob to inform him.
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
That word days there doesn't mean just for a few days or a week. We will see it is a pretty extended period of time.
Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
So whether Isaac knew Esau was planning on killing Jacob or not, Rebekah wasn't trying to upset her husband being he was close to the end of his life on earth, so she uses this as an excuse for Jacob leaving.
Conclusion: So what can we take away from this chapter. How can we apply it to our own lives,
I feel like this chapter kind of picks up and piggybacks off of chapter 25 but once again take your relationship with God seriously, we keep seeing Esau over and over again being a man of the flesh and not a man of God. Surround yourself with that Lamb, Christ, and the word of God and you WILL be blessed.
Another thing, I've read lots and lots of commentaries over this chapter and alot of people read this chapter as Rebekah and Jacob being liars and thieves. When this chapter is read alone, I can see where that comes from, but taking the entire story from the birth of Jacob and Esau to the blessing being passed down, Jacob inherited Esaus birthright from Esau trading it for basically nothing, and Rebekah is obeying God’s prophecy by Jacob ruling over Esau. So as we study and read the bible, this chapter is a Great example as to why we cant take bits and pieces and read the word of God out of context. Study to show thyself approved and the truth will be revealed
