Genesis 27
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19 Jacob said 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 give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of 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 you heaven’s dew
and earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him,
“Your dwelling will be
away from the earth’s richness,
away from the dew of heaven above.
40 You will live by the sword
and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke
from off your neck.”
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
Genesis 27 (NIV)
Genesis 27 tells the story of a man (Jacob) who pulled a con on his father and took the blessings that were intended for his brother Esau.
Their father Isaac intended to give his blessing to Esau because Esau was the first born. However, the boys’ mother Rebekah overhead the conversation between Isaac and Esau and she derived a plan for Jacob to be the one who got Isaac’s blessing.
Discussion
Jacob used deceit to obtain his father’s blessing and he was indeed blessed in his life (as you will find out in later chapters of the Bible).
Yes, a prophecy was given at the time of their birth stating that the older brother (Esau) would serve the younger brother (Jacob), but does that justify Jacob taking Isaac’s blessing by employing deceitful means? Short answer: no.
Backstory: In Genesis 25 Esau had traded his birthright to Jacob for a plate of food. This meant that Isaac’s blessings were indeed supposed to go to Jacob now by reason of that transaction. However, it’s safe to assume that Esau did not communicate this with their father Isaac. In those days, it was customary for a man’s first son to be his heir and since Esau came out of the womb before Jacob (they were twins), he was the heir in Isaac’s eyes.
Isaac, choosing to abide by tradition instead of submitting to the prophecy given in Genesis 25:23 (“the older will serve the younger”) still wanted his blessing to go to Esau as the firstborn.
As you can probably imagine, all this seemed unfair to Jacob, Esau had made a deal with him but now did not want to honour his part. It is also safe to assume given Rebekah’s love for Jacob, that she was made aware of the trade and decided to facilitate Jacob’s trickery of his father. More so, Rebekah was the one who had received the prophecy about the older son serving the older one.
Jacob and Rebekah certainly could have used a different approach to attain the desired goal but they chose to be cunning about it. As a result, enmity grew between Esau and Jacob and Jacob had to flee out of fear of what his brother might do to him.
Does that mean it’s okay to use deceit to achieve one’s goals?
No.
Remember in Genesis 16 when Abram (who later became knows as Abraham) and Sarai (who later became known as Sarah) tried to make God’s promise come to pass by using their own means? It backfired really hard, they ended up having a son (Ishmael) whose descendants for years have been enemies of Isaac.
When you try to use human means to force God’s will to come to pass there will be negative consequences. One of Jacob’s consequences was having to run away from home and live in hiding from his brother out of fear of being killed.
When God gives you a promise or prophecy, trust Him to guide you all the way. Don’t take matters into your own hands and definitely don’t employ deceitful tactics.
Lessons from Genesis 27
- Discuss your secret matters away from wandering ears: Rebekah overheard Isaac talking to Esau and so was able to derive a plan to help Jacob take Esau’s blessing. When discussing secret matters, consider going somewhere private. In this age of technology where digital communication is popular, consider using encrypted systems, use passwords to protect your accounts and sensitive information and avoid using public networks to transmit sensitive data.
- Once a blessing has been given, it cannot be taken back: When Esau finally came to his father with the food he had made, Isaac said about Jacob “…I blessed him – and indeed he will be blessed”. There was no taking back the blessing that had already been spoken. Similarly, when God or someone else speaks blessings over your life, there’s no taking it back. These words become prophecies and don’t return void but accomplish what they were sent out for. That said, it is important to watch what you say because just as blessings take effect, so too do curses.
As a Christian you should emulate God, be a man/woman of your word and not someone who’s constantly going back on what they said (in other words: a liar).
- Jacob lived up to his name: Jacob means “he deceives/takes advantage”. As Esau remarked in Genesis 27 verse 36, his brother really lived up to that name. You’ll see as you read on that God eventually changed Jacob’s name just like with Abraham and Sarah. It goes to show us that names matter, not all names have good meanings or origins.
- The time factor: Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence when Esau came in (Genesis 27 verse 30). That means he missed his blessing by just a few minutes. One thing I’ve come to realize is that timing is very important. Showing up on time is important, doing things at the right time is vital. You may do everything right but if your timing is off, your whole operation may fail. There is a time and season for everything, doing the right thing in the wrong season will likely not produce the outcome.
- Treat all of your children with love and fairness, show no favouritism: Isaac favoured Esau while Rebekah favoured Jacob and it was reflected in the heights they were willing to go through for them. Fair treatment does not always mean treating people exactly the same, fair treatment entails recognizing each individual’s unique needs and catering to them accordingly. Fairness also means giving people what’s rightfully theirs to have.
- God’s commandments must always supersede human traditions: Isaac was so hung up on their traditions (giving everything to the oldest son) that he chose to uphold them instead of taking heed to what God had said.
In your walk with God, acknowledge the fact that His ways are waaaaayyyyy higher than the ways of mankind. God is a lot wiser than we are and has more power than we do, so, certainly His decrees should supersede our traditions.
- Long-lasting consequences: Esau despised his birthright. On a whim, he traded it for some food to satisfy a temporary need and now he was faced with the long term consequences: receiving curses instead of blessings (Genesis 27 verse 39-40). The food was long gone and now, his inheritance was too.
- Value spiritual matters: The things of God should matter to you, don’t be dismissive and nonchalant. God is the essence of life and without Him there’s no life at all. Don’t be like Esau who didn’t care at all. Temporary gratification is just that – temporary, but when you live by Spirit and exalt God above everyone and everything, you’re set up for eternity… that’s quite a long time.
Reflection
- Are you a person who honours your word?
- Do you value and honour spiritual things?
- Do you honour God above human traditions?
Further reading
- Isaiah 55:11 NIV [so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.]
- Proverbs 21:23 NIV [Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.]
- Matthew 5:33 NIV [“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’]
- Ecclesiastes 5:5 NIV [It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.]
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV [There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens]
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV [For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”]
- Mark 7:8, 13 AMP [You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.
so you nullify the [authority of the] word of God [acting as if it did not apply] because of your tradition which you have handed down [through the elders]. And you do many things such as that.]
Prayer
God, you are almighty and your ways are higher than our ways. Lead me and guide me, give me wisdom to recognize different seasons and times and help me see things like you do, that I may honour you all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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