Genesis 27.30-40-Isaac Gives Esau an Antiblessing
Sunday June 4, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 27:30-40-Isaac Gives Esau an Antiblessing
Lesson # 156
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 27:1.
This morning we will continue with our study of Genesis 27.
This past week we studied the following passages:
In Genesis 27:1-4, we studied the conspiracy of Isaac and Esau to secretly secure the blessing of the birthright for Esau rather than Jacob, which was against the will of God.
In Genesis 27:5-17, we saw the conspiracy of Rebekah and Jacob to deceive Isaac and secure the blessing of the birthright for Jacob, which would thwart the conspiracy of Isaac and Esau from succeeding.
In Genesis 27:18-29, we saw the success of Rebekah’s plan where Jacob successfully deceived his father Isaac into thinking he was Esau so that Isaac unknowingly bestowed upon him the family blessing rather than Esau.
In Genesis 27:30-40, we see Isaac learning that he had been deceived by Jacob and Esau attempting in vain to secure a blessing from Isaac but instead his father pronounces an antiblessing upon Esau.
Genesis 27:30, “Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.”
This was not an accident that Esau came a moment too late since his late arrival was according to the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
Genesis 27:31, “Then he also made savory 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.’”
Genesis 27:32, “Isaac his father said to him, ‘Who are you?’ And he said, ‘I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.’”
Genesis 27:33, “Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, ‘Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.’”
The expression “trembled violently” is composed of five words in the Hebrew text and literally means that Isaac “trembled, a trembling, that was great and excessive.”
The irony of it all was that since Isaac had tried to give everything to Esau, there was nothing left that could be considered a blessing to his favorite son, for all had been given to Jacob.
Isaac set his heart on that which was con¬trary to the revealed will of God, and because of this his world came crashing down upon him when God’s purposes prevailed.
The Holy Spirit convicted Isaac that he was going against the will of God by attempting to secretly bestow the family blessing upon Esau rather than Jacob, which is indicated by Isaac’s violent emotional reaction to finding out that he had been deceived into giving the blessing to Jacob rather than Esau.
He now realizes that he was wrong by choosing Esau over Jacob in defiance of God’s revealed will.
Isaac’s statement “Yes, and he (Jacob) shall be blessed” not only indicates the irrevocability of the blessing but also it indicates that Isaac knows now that he was wrong to choose Esau rather than Jacob.
Isaac had just encountered the “overruling” will of God where Isaac against the will of God sought to bestow the blessing of the inheritance upon Esau, who was not God’s choice, but rather He chose Jacob.
Proverbs 19:21, “Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand.”
Genesis 27:34, “When 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!’”
Esau was an emotional and irrational person as revealed in the fact that he was quick to exchange his invaluable birthright and the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant as the first-born in the family for a bowl of lintel soup but now he wants the blessing of the birthright, which he rejected by exchanging the birthright.
Isaac and Esau conspired against Jacob and their plan has backfired on them since they reaped deception because they sowed seeds of deception.
Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
Genesis 27:35, “And he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.’”
The statement “he has taken away your blessing” indicates that the blessing that Isaac bestowed upon Jacob unknowingly was “irrevocable” and that Isaac has come to his senses and realizes that God has chosen Jacob and not Esau.
Genesis 27:36, “Then he said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.’ And he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’”
“Supplanted” is the verb `aqav (bq^u*) (aw-kav), which means, “to seize by the heel” and is used a play on Jacob’s name, which is derived from this verb.
The name given to “Jacob” means, “heel,” implying grasping and describes the younger twin as “the heel catcher.”
Esau was definitely cheated when Jacob stole the blessing but he was definitely not cheated by Jacob when he exchanged his birthright for a bowl of lintel soup, rather the latter was a result of his own bad decision.
Therefore, Esau fails to take responsibility for his actions and has himself only to blame for the exchange of the birthright.
Genesis 27:37, “But Isaac replied to Esau, ‘Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?’”
The statement “I have made him (Jacob) your (Esau) master” is confirmation of the command given by Isaac to Jacob to “be master of your brothers,” which is recorded in Genesis 27:29, which in turn confirms the Lord’s prophecy to Rebekah recorded in Genesis 25:23 that “the older shall serve the younger.”
The command “be master of your brothers” and the statement “I have made him your master” denotes the fact that Jacob would hold the position of inheritance in the family and his legal superiority over his brother Esau and would inherit his father’s position as patriarch over his clan.
Isaac’s statement “all his relatives I have given to him as servants” echoes the blessing in Genesis 27:29, “may your mother's sons bow down to you” and denotes the fact that Rebekah’s descendants through Esau who were the Edomites would pay homage and show honor and respect to Jacob’s descendants who are the nation of Israel (See Genesis 36:1-43).
Isaac’s statement to Esau “with grain and new wine I have sustained him” echoes the blessing bestowed upon Jacob that is recorded in Genesis 27:29, “may God give you an abundance of grain and new wine,” which refers to rich harvests.
Isaac’s rhetorical question to Esau, “Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” means that since Isaac unknowingly gave everything to Esau, he now has only an antiblessing to offer Esau, which are prophecies.
Genesis 27:38, “Esau said to his father, ‘Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.’ So Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
Genesis 27:39-40, “Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, ‘Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, and away from the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, that you will break his yoke from your neck.’”
Since Isaac gave everything to Jacob, all he has to give Esau is an “antiblessing,” which is a parody on Jacob’s blessing and are also prophecies concerning the future of Esau’s descendants who were the Edomites.
The antiblessing/prophecy “away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling” means that Esau and his descendants would be denied the earth’s fertility unlike Jacob and his descendants.
The antiblessing/prophecy “away from the dew of heaven from above” means that Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, would be denied dew, which plays such an essential role in the irrigation of crops in Palestine.
Therefore, we see that Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, would not participate in the blessing of rich harvests as Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites would and would live away from fertile places, which implies that his descendants would live in a dry and barren land-as Edom on the whole actually was.
The antiblessing/prophecy “by your sword you shall live” means that Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, would live in continuous conflict, always having to defend themselves from their enemies.
Edom appears as a militant nation throughout the Old Testament Scriptures (Numbers 20:18; 1 Samuel 14:47; 1 Kings 11:14-16; 2 Kings 14:7-10; Obadiah; Psalm 60:10-11).
The antiblessing/prophecy “your brother you shall serve” means that the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites would prevail over Esau’s descendants, the Edomites.
Esau, the older, did not actually serve Jacob, his younger twin but rather Esau’s descendants did (see 1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Kings 11:15-16; 22:47; 2 Kings 14:7).
This prophecy is a confirmation of the prophecy that was given to Rebekah and is recorded in Genesis 25:23 that the “older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob).”
The prophecy “But it shall come about when you become restless, that you will break his yoke from your neck” means that the time would come when the Edomites would break free from Israel (See 1 Kings 11:14-15; 2 Kings 8:20-22).
From the time of David, Edom was part of the Israelite empire but later regained its independence (See 2 Kings 8:20-22) but after the fall of Jerusalem, Edom took revenge on Judah (Obadiah; Psalm 137:7).
Therefore, we can see that this prophecy of future freedom was in a sense a blessing and thus Esau was blessed as it says in Hebrews 11:20 that Isaac blessed not only Jacob but also Esau.
Hebrews 11:20, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.”
Now, it might appear on the surface that God rewarded Rebekah and Jacob for their sin of deceiving Isaac but this is far from the case.
Both Rebekah and Jacob reaped what they sowed.
God disciplined both Rebekah and Jacob for their deception.
For instance, Rebekah and Jacob apparently never saw each other again after the separation that grew out of this deceit, which was a painful experience for both.
Secondly, Jacob was more cruelly deceived by his own sons when they sold Joseph into slavery.
Lastly, Jacob went from being a man of means and influence to being demoted to a position of hard rigorous service for twenty years to Laban.
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our deacons pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ to every church age believer to bring into remembrance His Unique Person and Finished Work on the Cross, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other as members of the Body of Christ.
In the communion service, the bread portrays the sinless humanity of Christ, which was sacrificed for us and the wine portrays His spiritual death as our Substitute, both of which serve as the basis for fellowship with God and each other.
1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:24, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”