Read with Me
Genesis 27:14-29 (HCSB)
So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”
And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
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.”
But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”
He replied, “Because the LORD your God worked it out for me.”
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”
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.” He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
And he replied, “I am.”
Then he said, “Serve me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” 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.
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.
May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brothers;
may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
and those who bless you will be blessed.
Listen with Me
Jacob moved immediately to put his mother’s plan into action. He immediately went to the flock and got two young goats, which Rebecca prepared exactly the way Isaac liked them.
While he had been with the flock, Rebecca got some of Esau’s best clothes, and while the food was cooking, she took the goat skins and prepared them, fitting them to Jacob’s neck, arms, and hands, the parts of his body that blind Isaac would be most likely to touch, and which would immediately reveal the deception if they were smooth.
Once the food was done, Rebekah outfitted Jacob with the clothes and the goat skins. Then she put the food in Jacob’s hands, and gave him a push toward the tent where his father was waiting in bed.
When Jacob announced his presence and claimed the identity of his brother Esau, Isaac immediately sensed that something wasn’t right. First, it had been a very short time since Esau had left on his hunt. It normally took a couple of hours just to find the game that was to be hunted. But Jacob’s reply that “the Lord Your God” had helped him to find the game so quickly put the issue to rest.
But Isaac still felt that something wasn’t right. Even though Jacob was trying to imitate Esau’s voice, he still sounded a lot like Jacob imitating Esau rather than Esau himself. But there was one test that would show the truth. All he had to do was touch the man’s hand. Jacob’s hands were smooth, but Esau’s had been covered with coarse hair since birth.
As Jacob drew near, Isaac grasped his hand, and he felt the coarse goat hair that now covered it, a very passable imitation of Esau’s hairy hand and forearm. So, his heart was set a little at ease, although he still felt that something wasn’t quite right.
Jacob brought the specially prepared meal to Isaac, who ate it with obvious relish. The whole time, Jacob sat quietly, only answering when asked a question, realizing that his voice, quite different from his brother’s, even though he had tried his hardest to imitate him well, would give him away if he said too much.
Finally, the meal was over, and it was time for the blessing. Isaac called “Esau” over and requested one final test: a kiss. When Jacob bent over his father, Isaac smelled the scent of Esau on the borrowed clothes he was wearing. That sealed the deal in Isaac’s mind. He delivered the irrevocable blessing, granting “Esau” every good blessing, including mastery over his relatives, in essence, granting to him the full promise that he had received from his own father, Abraham. The legacy had now been passed on to the next generation once and for all. And now, if Isaac died, he would die with his mind at ease.
Pray with Me
Father, in every generation, despite the plans and desires of the people involved, You demonstrated Your sovereignty. With Abraham, You bypassed the tradition of the first-born, and chose Isaac, the son of the promise, instead. With Isaac you did the same thing, working even through the scheming of a mother to ensure that the second-born son, the one prophesied to receive the blessing before the twins were born did receive the blessing. And even looking forward to Jacob’s sons, the first-born did not receive the promise of lordship over the other eleven brothers. Nor did the favorite son, Joseph. That honor went to the fourth-born son, Judah. Lord, no matter what people plan, Your sovereign will is what will be done. Thank you for that confidence. Amen.
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