Read with Me
Genesis 27:30-41 (HCSB)
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from the hunt. He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”
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!”
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!”
But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? 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?”
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?”
Esau said to his father, “Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.
Then 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.
You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,
you will break his yoke from your neck.
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.”
Listen with Me
Timing is vital. No sooner did Jacob leave Isaac’s tent, flush with both the amazing blessing he had received from his father as well as with shame at the way he had gotten it, than Esau returned from his hunt. He immediately set to work to cook the meat, with visions of his impending blessing rushing through his mind as he worked.
But when he took the food to his father, all his expectations crashed to the ground. His father was under the impression that he had already eaten Esau’s food and had already blessed him.
It didn’t take great genius to figure out what had happened. Jacob, the opportunist, had schemed and had succeeded. He had somehow masqueraded as Esau, and he had done it so successfully that he had even deceived their own father.
Sadly, once the blessing had been delivered in God’s presence, it could not be rescinded, even if it had been given in error. Isaac understood that even though he had given Esau’s blessing to Jacob, the blessing would stand, and none of it could now be given to his intended heir.
Esau was understandably devastated, and a deep hatred of his brother began to grow in his heart. He pleaded with his father to bless him as well.
Isaac knew that he had basically blessed Jacob with the best of everything, including mastery over his brothers and the promise of the land that had been passed to him from his own father, Abraham. He was devastated that he had allowed himself to be deceived. He had known all along that something was not right, but he had allowed himself to be led right into the trap.
Isaac did bless Esau, but the blessing was far from what Isaac had planned. Esau would live near the richness of the earth, but not in it. He would serve his brother, scratching out a living through conquest and violence. But one day in the far our future, his descendants would rebel against the descendants of Jacob and successfully break free from their oversight.
This “blessing” only served to infuriate Esau further. He couldn’t avenge himself on Jacob while their father lived. Despite his obvious character flaws, Jacob was dearly loved by Isaac, and if Esau murdered him, it would likely drive him to his grave earlier than he would otherwise die. But Isaac did seem to be dying. So, Esau promised himself that as soon as Isaac died, he would kill Jacob with his own hands.
Pray with Me
Father, in this jealousy-induced murderous rage, I can see a parallel to Cain and Abel, which ended in such deep tragedy that it lasted for generations, and led to violence, separation from You, and sin so widespread that You finally responded with a global flood to rid the earth of it. Thankfully, things did not get to that point here. But this whole event does highlight the destructive power of greed, jealousy, and anger. Lord, help me to allow those things no foothold in my own life. Amen.
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