Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (20.4)

The Book of Genesis

Genesis Chapter 26:34 to 28:1-9 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

A Tragedy of Unbelief – The Deception for the Blessing

v.34-35 The account of this tragedy of family disunity begins with a third description of Isaac’s firstborn, Esau.  In 25:23, the LORD had already revealed that the promised line would not flow through Esau in His elective purposes.  Second, Esau demonstrated his profanity in selling his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup in 25:34.  Here, Esau revealed his disobedience in contracting two marriages on his own with the native Hittite women – he openly defied the principles which Abraham had so judiciously followed earlier (cf. 24:1-9).  All these descriptions clearly indicate the unworthiness of Esau to inherit the LORD’s promises of blessing to Abraham.

Chapter 27

v.1-5 In spite of what the LORD had revealed and how Esau was like, Isaac in his old age (at least 100 years old, cf. 26:34 and 25:26) persisted in his intent to bless his older son (v.1).  Isaac wished to bestow the blessing at this time because he thought he had not much longer to live (v.2) and the motivation for giving the blessing was a tasty meal (v.3-4).  The word “soul” in “that my soul may bless thee” (v. 4) indicates that Isaac wanted bless Esau with all his resources – with all the blessing he had received and with all his desire and vitality.  It is more than saying that he wished “with all his heart” to bless Esau, it would be the passing on of his lifetime of blessing to Esau. 

Isaac continued preference for Esau is a sad commentary on his spiritual discernment this late in life.  He seems to have completely ignored the reality that Esau is disqualified and his natural desires were evidently more important to him than spiritual and moral values.  “Esau went to the field to hunt for venison” because it will be for the satisfaction of a physical appetite that Isaac would give the cherished blessing to his favourite son.  This dependence on his senses turned out to be his undoing and his insistence to bless Esau created a major crisis when “Rebekah heard” (v.5) it.

v.6-17 Rebekah apparently thought that the desperate situation demanded desperate measures.  Her plan was simply to replace Esau in the process, for Jacob would take the “savoury meat…such as [Isaac] loved” she would reproduce to Isaac in order that Isaac might eat and bless Jacob (v.6-10).  We might think that the better approach would have been to confront Isaac but the family was not that close because favouritism had ruled for some time (cf. 25:28).  Even if Rebekah and Jacob really felt that a confrontation is not going to work, the LORD had already reserved the blessing for Jacob (cf. 25:23) and they should have rested in His promise and allowed Him to overrule Isaac in His own way.

Jacob hesitated, not on moral grounds, but on fear of being detected because he (“a smooth man”) would “feel” differently from Esau (“a hairy man”) to Isaac (v.11).  The risk was indeed great because Jacob would be conducting himself in a way (“a deceiver”) that deserve “a curse” (v.12).  With his mother’s assurance (“Upon me be thy curse”), Jacob obeyed her and proceeded to set up their scheme of deception (v.13-16).  It seems almost symbolic when Jacob was clothed with Esau’s robes – it is as if the younger son was indeed replacing the older son in the receiving the blessing.

God has always provided direction and enablement for His people to carry out their responsibilities in His covenantal programme.  Unfortunately, many people persist in handling them in their own carnal way, often complicating matters greatly.  Genesis 27 gives us a detailed look at an entire family living this way.  On the surface, it is the familiar story of how Jacob got the blessing through deception with his mother’s help.  At a deeper level, it reveals a tragedy of family strife and disunity over the pursuit of spiritual blessing, where all the participants were at fault.  Isaac, in full knowledge of the intent of God (“the elder will serve the younger,” 25:23), set himself to oppose it by persisting to bless Esau.  Esau in agreeing to the plan, broke his oath to Jacob (26:33, cf. Heb. 12:16-17, which implied that when Esau sold his birthright, he lost the blessing).  Rebekah and Jacob, with a just cause, went about achieving it by deception, with no faith and love.  Although they won the birthright successful through their deceitful scheme, they only obtained what God declared they would receive anyway and they reaped the fruit of hatred, conflict, and separation in the family.

v.18-29 Two lies were involved in this scheme of deception to obtain Isaac’s blessing (v.18-20).   The first concerns Jacob’s identity (“I am Esau thy firstborn”); the second credited the LORD with expediting the hunt (“the LORD thy God brought it to me”).  The first lie was enough to deceive but the second was blasphemy!  In spite of these bold lies, Isaac was not sure that it was Esau and the deceiver was put under close scrutiny – that of feeling (v.21-23).  Isaac noted that “The voice is Jacob’s voice” and so he asked once more to be sure, and the lie was repeated (v.24).  Only after eating the venison (v.25) and smelling the clothing (v.26-27) did the father give the blessing.  Isaac’s dependence upon his five physical senses resulted in his deception and this provides a warning to all who would depend solely on empirical evidence for truth!  Satan has for thousands of years provided impressive substitutes for the real thing, and even today to the future, there are many who will not discover the deception until the tragedy has occurred (cf. Matt. 24:24).

The blessing Isaac bestowed on his son involved the blessing of fertility on the field (v.28), the establishment of Jacob’s lordship over his brethren and over the nations, and the protection of the blessing first given to Abraham (v.29).  The deceiver was successful in gaining what he schemed to obtain but we must understand that although the LORD used this incident for the bestowal of the blessing on the proper son, He did not condone Jacob’s deception at all.  The fate of such an attempt to manipulate events through deceitful schemes is reported in the life of Jacob for everyone who care to examine the Genesis record.  The fact is Rebekah and Jacob gained nothing deal by their wicked interference because God had promised that the birthright would be Jacob’s and would have given it him in some way that brings glory to His name, and not shame.  But they lost a great deal instead.  Rebekah lost her beloved son for she never saw him again after he had to flee for his life.  Jacob, in fleeing for his life, lost all the comforts of home, and all the possessions his father had accumulated.  He became an outcast with nothing but a staff to begin the world for himself.  From this first false step onwards to his death, he was pursued by misfortune, until his own verdict on his life was “few and evil have the days of the years of my life been” (47:9).

v.30-40 The deception of Jacob became painfully clear when Esau returned to present his venison to his father (v.30-32).  At the discovery of the deception, “Isaac trembled very exceedingly” (v.33), over what had happened, and over what he had done in attempting to bless Esau.  Esau’s “great and exceeding bitter cry” (v.34) surpass his father’s trembling and he sought, in his anguish, a blessing from his father as well.  But it was too late because Isaac’s explanation made it clear that there was little left for him (v.35).  Esau’s predicament brought about an understanding of the true nature of his brother – “Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times” (v.36).  Jacob had been named to commemorate his grabbing his brother by the heel, but in the opinion of Esau that playful act took on a sinister significance to mean “overreacher” or “deceiver”.  Esau cry, on the surface, was that of an innocent man who had suffered double losses at the hand of Jacob but such was not the case as Hebrews 12:16-17 makes it clear that Esau lost the blessing of the firstborn when he despised and sold his birthright.  All that was left for Esau was a “blessing” that would reiterate that the real blessing went to Jacob (v.37-38).  The blessing for Esau was that he would live off the fat of the land and serve his brother until he would break Jacob’s yoke from his neck (v.39-40).  Hence, Esau’s descendants would be restricted to a subservient role under Jacob’s descendants (cf. 25:23).

v.41-46 As a result of the deception, Esau deeply hated Jacob and fully intended to slay him after Isaac died (v.41), not realising that Isaac would live till the age of 180 (cf. 35:28).  According to Rebekah, this plan to slay Jacob was Esau’s way of consoling himself (v.42).  Rebekah’s plan in response was simple – Jacob should flee to Paddan-Aram and stay with her brother Laban (v.43) for “a few days” until Esau’s “fury turn away” (v.44).  She strongly urged Jacob to flee because she sensed from Esau’s anger that the situation was critical and fear the loss of both sons through the process of blood revenge.  If Esau killed Jacob, then the nearest elder relative would kill Esau and Rebekah would be “deprived also of …both in one day” (v.45). 

Rebekah prevailed over Isaac by another subtle deception to send Jacob away to Paddan Aram.   Her explanation to Isaac of why Jacob should depart (v.46) was quite different from the truth (cf. 45).  Her explanation pleased Isaac for obvious reasons and Rebekah’s deceit worked. 

Chapter 28

v.1-5 In agreement with Rebekah, Isaac instructed Jacob not to “take a wife of the daughters of the Canaan” (v.1) and commanded him to go to “the house of Bethuel…and take…wife…from…the daughters of Laban” (v.2).  In blessing Jacob at his departure, Isaac referred to God as “God Almighty” (v.3).  Since this Divine Title was earlier associated with the covenant of Abraham (cf. 28:3; 17:1), Isaac was reminding Jacob that he would receive the land promised to Abraham.  This time, Isaac was fully aware of what he was doing and of what the will of God was.  The bestowal of this blessing (v.4) was in no way a divine approval of how Jacob obtained the blessing but it was simply a recognition that the younger son was the one God chose to carry on the Abrahamic blessing.  Jacob’s journey into Paddan-aram (v.5) for “a few days” (cf. v.44) turn into a period of 20 years.  Rebekah would never see Jacob again and he will begin to reap the fruits of his deception.

The fact that Rebekah and Jacob’s success was soured by fearful separation reveals that their deceit was guilt not simply against others but against God.  God’s people who know God’s will must not stoop to deceptive, manipulative schemes to gain spiritual success but must strive to achieve God’s will righteously.  It is tragic that those who seek to handle spiritual responsibilities think it necessary to stoop to such means.  Believers today still face the temptation to stoop to base means in response to difficulties and crisis and they may even seem necessary at the moment for the fulfillment of God’s will.  But the deceiver can take no credit for accomplishing the will of God because God will not permit His people to secure His blessings through deceptive manipulative schemes.

v.6-9 Esau then attempted to please his father by fetching a wife from the family of his grandfather, Abraham.  He went “unto Ishmael” (i.e. the family of Ishmael) and married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter (v.6-9).

Read more devotionals on Genesis Chapter 26