GENESIS 27
27
$^{1}$ When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he answered, “Here I am.”
$^{2}$ He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. $^{3}$ So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me. $^{4}$ Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”
$^{5}$ Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, $^{6}$ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, $^{7}$ ‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ $^{8}$ Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you. $^{9}$ Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father — the kind he loves. $^{10}$ Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”
$^{11}$ Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin. $^{12}$ Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”
$^{13}$ His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”
$^{14}$ So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. $^{15}$ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. $^{16}$ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. $^{17}$ Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
$^{18}$ When he came to his father, he said, “My father.” And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
$^{19}$ Jacob replied 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 bless me.”
$^{20}$ But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” He replied, “Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.”
$^{21}$ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”
$^{22}$ So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” $^{23}$ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. $^{24}$ Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
$^{25}$ Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.
$^{26}$ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” $^{27}$ So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said:
Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.
$^{28}$ May God give to you —
from the dew of the sky
and from the richness of the land —
an abundance of grain and new wine.
$^{29}$ May peoples serve you
and nations bow in worship to you.
Be master over your relatives;
may your mother’s sons bow
in worship to you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
and those who bless you
will be blessed.
$^{30}$ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting. $^{31}$ He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
$^{32}$ But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”
$^{33}$ Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”
$^{34}$ When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”
$^{35}$ But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
$^{36}$ So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?$^{a}$ For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
$^{37}$ But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”
$^{38}$ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.$^{b}$
$^{39}$ His father Isaac answered him,
Look, your dwelling place will be
away from the richness of the land,
away from the dew of the sky above.
$^{40}$ You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,$^{c}$
you will break his yoke from your neck.
ESAU’S ANGER
$^{41}$ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
$^{42}$ When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. $^{43}$ So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, $^{44}$ and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides — $^{45}$ until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
$^{46}$ So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hittite girls. If Jacob marries someone from around here,$^{d}$ like these Hittite girls, what good is my life?”
📖 Lecture: The Stolen Blessing - Genesis 27
Good afternoon. Today, we delve into one of the most pivotal and dramatic narratives in the Book of Genesis: Chapter 27, the story of how Jacob stole Esau's blessing. This account is not merely about family drama; it is a critical moment in salvation history, determining the lineage and covenant promise through deception, maternal influence, and prophetic utterance.
1. Isaac's Request and Rebekah's Plot (Verses 1-17)
The scene opens with a frail, blind Isaac, nearing death, deciding to confer the all-important patriarchal blessing upon his elder son, Esau.
Isaac's Instructions (vv. 1-4): Isaac calls Esau and asks him to go hunt game, prepare his favorite savory meal, and bring it to him. This meal was intended to precede and perhaps ceremonially facilitate the giving of the irrevocable blessing.
Rebekah's Eavesdropping (v. 5): Isaac's wife, Rebekah, overhears this private conversation. We know from earlier chapters that she favored Jacob, and she was aware of the prophecy that "the older shall serve the younger."
The Deception Plan (vv. 6-10): Seeing an opportunity to ensure Jacob receives the blessing, Rebekah quickly instructs Jacob to fetch two choice young goats from the flock. She plans to prepare the savory meal herself, using the goat meat to mimic the taste of Esau's game.
Jacob's Hesitation (vv. 11-13): Jacob objects, not based on the morality of the deception, but on the risk of being caught. Esau was hairy, and Jacob was smooth-skinned. If Isaac touched him, Jacob feared receiving a curse instead of a blessing. Rebekah immediately assumes the consequence: "Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me."
Executing the Plan (vv. 14-17): Jacob obeys. Rebekah dresses Jacob in Esau's best clothes (which carried the scent of the field) and covers Jacob's hands and neck with the skins of the young goats to mimic Esau's hairiness.
2. Jacob's Success and Isaac's Misgivings (Verses 18-29)
Jacob brings the meal to his father, who is now relying entirely on his senses of touch, smell, and hearing—all of which are cleverly manipulated.
The Dialogue and Touch Test (vv. 18-23): Isaac is suspicious because Jacob returned too quickly. Jacob lies, attributing his success to "the Lord your God." Isaac then asks to touch him.
The Voice: "The voice is the voice of Jacob."
The Hands: "...but the hands are the hands of Esau."
The tactile deception works, and Isaac, failing to recognize the deeper lie, proceeds to eat and drink.
The Final Blessing (vv. 26-29): Isaac asks Jacob to come closer and kiss him. When he smells the scent of Esau's clothes—the "smell of a field that the Lord has blessed"—he is convinced and delivers the great blessing.
This blessing is one of abundance (dew of the sky, richness of the land, grain, new wine) and dominion (peoples and nations serving him; being master over his relatives). This blessing essentially confirms Jacob as the heir to the Abrahamic Covenant.
3. Esau's Return and Isaac's Trembling (Verses 30-40)
The consequences of the deception unfold immediately upon Esau's return.
The Revelation (vv. 30-33): Esau brings in his game and asks for the blessing. When Isaac realizes what has happened, he trembles uncontrollably. The blessing is irrevocable; Isaac confirms the finality of the act: "I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!"
Esau's Bitter Cry (vv. 34-36): Esau cries out, begging for a blessing. He recognizes that Jacob's name, meaning "He Grabs the Heel" or "Deceiver," is appropriate, noting he was cheated twice (first the birthright, now the blessing).
The Secondary Blessing (vv. 39-40): Isaac can only offer a secondary blessing to Esau, which is essentially a prediction of a less fortunate destiny:
A dwelling place away from the richness of the land.
Living by his sword (a violent existence).
Serving his brother.
A future promise that he will rebel and break the yoke of servitude.
4. Esau's Anger and Jacob's Flight (Verses 41-46)
The stolen blessing escalates the sibling rivalry into deadly hatred.
Esau's Vow (v. 41): Esau vows to kill Jacob after their father, Isaac, dies.
Rebekah's Intervention (vv. 42-45): Hearing of the murder plot, Rebekah acts again to protect Jacob. She instructs him to flee at once to her brother, Laban, in Haran, and wait until Esau's rage subsides. Her final lament is that she could lose both sons in one day (Jacob to murder, Esau to exile or execution for murder).
The Pretext (v. 46): To secure Isaac's agreement for Jacob's departure, Rebekah creates a pretext: she complains that she is "sick of my life" because of the local Hittite women (Esau's wives), urging Isaac to send Jacob away to find a proper wife from her kin.
This chapter sets the stage for Jacob's long exile and his own subsequent dealings with deception in Laban's household, highlighting the complex ways in which human failure and God's sovereign plan intersect.
No comments:
Post a Comment