Genesis 27:42-46

“Anything we have to manipulate to get, we rarely get to keep.” I have this written in the margin of my workbook for Beth Moore’s study, The Patriarchs. I’m assuming it’s something she said in her video that struck me about the last verses in this chapter:

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. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 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?”


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.” (Gen 27:42-46)

This last scene in this chapter truly shows the consequences of the many dysfunctions in this family: favoritism, manipulation, deceit, a lack of spiritual discernment, enablement, unchecked anger and bitterness. The favoritism that Rebekah and Isaac each showed to their sons set the scene up for unhealthy competition between these brothers. Rebekah’s need to manipulate the outcomes “for God” thrust Jacob right into the middle of his largest deception. Isaac ignoring all of the warning signs that something was amiss and failing to lead these boys spiritually. Esau was allowed to go with his impulses, whether in his tendency to anger or in his choice of brides - the classic enablement by a dad who saw his son as a man’s man, the hunter, the jock superstar! And at the heart of it? Everyone wanted his own way over God’s way! Can we relate just a bit?

And look what happens in the end. Rebekah was told by someone (Isaac? A servant who overheard?) that Esau was plotting murder. So she told Jacob to “get out of Dodge” for a “awhile” until Esau could simmer down. That “awhile” lasted more than twenty years, and Rebekah died without ever seeing her son again! Note that nothing turned out as they had probably hoped, as she laments the women in Esau's life, who did not know or love God.  What a mess!

I’m right in the middle of this kind of situation at work right now that has just blown up. And as I’m reading God’s Word, which is always given at the absolute perfect time, I’m seeing how favoritism has created a competition that has lead us down all of these same paths! And the need to manipulate every detail (which really comes from that need to have our own way by hook or by crook), ends up with everyone losing in the end! As I said at the outset of this chapter, who needs a soap opera when we have these Bible stories? But the sad part is that I could now say, “Who needs a soap opera when you can be living one out yourself?” Yesterday I felt like I was a main character in “As the School Turns!” It was ugly - and feelings were hurt and people felt misunderstood and we all ended up guilty as sin! LORD, help us!!!

I am so thankful for this lesson today. I almost didn’t want to even open my Bible this morning, because I was feeling so discouraged. But, once again, God’s Word pointed out the heart of today’s problem! How thankful I am for the “sword of the Spirit” that cuts us to the quick and does exactly what God sends it forth to do!

Praying for peace!

 

Genesis 27:36-41

Today we’ll look at some of the historical ramifications of the dysfunction of this family, as we look at the blessing that Isaac gives to Esau.

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?”

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?”

Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.

His father Isaac answered him,“Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, 
away from the dew of heaven above. 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.”


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.” (Gen 27:36-40)

You’ll note that I have highlighted Esau’s lamenting that Jacob “took” his birthright in addition to the blessing. Here is the convenient lapse of memory and the “victim” mentality of so many we all know who waste their lives wallowing in self-pity, never recognizing their part in the way their lives have turned out. Everyone else is to blame.

When I see this in students who are only 10 and 11 it scares me! My theme in my classroom is “Make Good Choices,” which is mainly about recognizing your personal responsibility for how your life turns out.

Blaming others for our woes is a way to feed bitterness and anger. And that never turns out well, as we’ll see today in Esau and his family line. Isaac prophesies that Esau “will live by the sword.” He would be a man of violence. Although he would serve his brother, there would come a point in history when he would “throw his yoke” off. I’m grateful for the help I received from Jon Courson, Beth Moore, and my Bible commentary here. I knew that the descendants of Esau were the Edomites, who were a constant source of trouble for the Jews. In fact, later, when the Babylonians carried Judah off into captivity, the Edomites not only applauded and gloated over it - they also went in behind and looted Judah. The book of Obadiah in the Old Testament is a book dedicated to the Edomites, specifically in condemnation of their treatment of their “brothers.”

When you look at the intensity of Esau’s anger toward his brother in verse 41, you wonder at such rage. Yet, we have seen over and over that the Jews have historically been the target of unnatural hatred. In the Old Testament book of Esther, we see the prototype of all antagonists toward the Jews in the Edomite, Haman. Haman plotted the complete annihilation of the Jews throughout the Medo-Persian Empire. Eventually the Edomites became known as the Idumeans, a people who converted to Judaism, but remained ethnically Edomites. Remember King Herod, the one who ordered the slaughter of every male child under the age of two after Jesus was born? He was an Idumean.

According to the historian, Josephus, in A.D. 70, when Titus was poised to invade and destroy Jerusalem, 20,000 Idumeans were allowed in the city gate of Jerusalem by the Jews, because they promised to help fight off the Romans. When they got inside the city gates, however, they turned on the Jews, slaughtering them. Do you see that these are a people who HATE Jews? This is an unnatural obsession that comes from Satan. It’s the spirit of antichrist that was also seen in Hitler, Stalin, and now in many Muslim leaders. Satan wants nothing less than the complete destruction of these chosen people, because he knows that God is not through with them yet. He wants to thwart God’s plan for the Second Coming. Jon Courson thinks that the prophecy about Esau throwing off the yoke of his brother refers to the future when the antichrist will assume power and set up his image in the temple in Jerusalem. It will be a short-lived “victory” for Satan!

Tomorrow we’ll see what the personal ramifications of the deception by Rebekah and Jacob were.

Genesis 27:29-41

There is so much in these next verses, that we are going to stay here for a while! I’m amazed at all that is in these few verses. Yesterday we read about the blessing that Jacob received. Did you all note the last verse in the blessing?

“May those who curse you be cursed 
   and those who bless you be blessed.” (Gen. 27:29b)

Don’t you wish our government leaders would get this verse? There is a blessing in blessing Israel and in being her friend. But turn away from Israel, ally yourself with her avowed enemies, and you will be cursed by God! There is no other political option than to be allied with Israel!

Okay, so we saw that Jacob made a hasty exit, just in time to miss the arrival of Esau, who was back from the hunt with his tasty game. Look carefully at both Isaac’s and Esau’s reactions:

After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 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.”


His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”


“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”


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!”


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!”


But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”(vs. 30-35)

When Isaac realizes that he has been tricked, he shakes violently! Imagine his anger! He absolves himself of any blame, however, when he claims that Jacob “came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Certainly, Jacob hatched the plan with his mother and totally deceived his father, but, as we saw before, Isaac had plenty of signs that something was not right before he bestowed the blessing.

When it says that Esau “burst out with a loud and bitter cry,” we can imagine the wailing exploded from him. He finally realizes what he has lost because he “despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). There is a the anger quickly descends into a bitterness that takes root here. When we look ahead to verse 41, we see the end result of this anger:

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.”


The anger and bitterness become a grudge, to the point that Esau plots murder! Now this is clearly not normal anger! Certainly people can become bitter and hold tightly to their grudges, but MOST people do not go to the point of plotting murder! Premeditated murder comes from the heart of a psychopath. Beth Moore writes the following about Esau’s behavior:

Normal people don’t murder. Normal people get hurt and angry. They may insult others and even act unkindly, but they don’t premeditate a murder. (The Partiarchs, P.124)

This desire to murder comes straight from the pit of Satan. John 8:44 tells us that Satan “was murderer from the beginning.” In particular, Satan’s number one desire has been to kill off the chosen people from whom the Messiah would come. This is why the Jews have been continuously persecuted throughout their history. As Beth Moore writes, “The holocaust of God’s people has been the enemy’s plan all along.” (P.125)

We saw this kind of anger in Cain. When we give into our hurt and anger, and let the root of bitterness grow, we are giving Satan a foothold in our lives. (Eph 4:27) He comes to steal, kill, and destroy! There is nothing good that comes from anger that we hold onto, only destruction! It is so easy to nurse our hurts, especially when we truly have been wronged. But holding onto them and feeding them will surely destroy our relationships. The book of Ephesians is full of warnings about guarding our emotions. If you are wallowing in hurt and anger today, read that book! Ask God to help you let it go and replace your hurt heart with a heart full of compassion, grace, and mercy!

 

Genesis 27:28-30

I hope you all enjoyed a restful Memorial Day as you gave thanks for all who have served and continue to serve this nation with great sacrifice! Today I am celebrating the 36th birthday of my firstborn, Molly! I remember the day of her birth with such clarity, it seems impossible that all this time has passed!! Happy Birthday, angel child!

Today we are just going to look at the blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob, thinking he was giving it to Esau:

“May God give you heaven’s dew 
   and earth’s richness— 
   an abundance of grain and new wine. 
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.” (Gen 27:28-29)

Once a blessing was given, it was impossible to take it back. Here, thinking he’s blessing Esau, Isaac prophecies that “Esau” would be lord over his brothers, that they would bow down to him. Yet, he certainly knew that God had already pronounced that Jacob would be over Esau (Gen 25:23). Here we see an interesting thing about the Hebrew culture - words are not spoken lightly! Beth Moore writes the following on this passage:

“Words are powerful. . . We speak words hastily and think we can simply take them back at a moment’s notice without consequences. Sometimes there are simply no ‘take backs.’ Genesis 27 is one of those times.

“Our consolation is the sovereignty of God. Though the players in these. . . scenes proved manipulative, hasty, deceptive, and foolish, a sovereign purpose trumped every play. In a very real sense, Isaac couldn’t take back his blessing because it really wasn’t his to give in the first place.” (The Patriarchs, P. 121)

God did not fulfill this blessing out of obligation to the words spoken by Isaac here, but because He Himself had already spoken them - this was part of his sovereign plan for this family and for the line of the Messiah. There were definite consequences to this family because of the way they had behaved here. We’ll see how Rebekah and Jacob suffered due to their deception. No, God had this all covered, and in His grace and sovereignty, He overcame the folly and sin of this family for their ultimate good and ours (Romans 8:28).

How easily we speak the multitude of words that flow from our mouths! So often we give our words very little thought. In fact, this is my biggest weakness! I have struggled all my life with the ability to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. When we speak reactively, we are bound to say something that has terrible ramifications. I want to be an encourager, and, yet, often my careless words can discourage. It’s why I ask God to control my tongue EVERY day! Anyone else struggle with this? :)

Finally, Jacob makes a quick departure after this blessing, and in fact escapes just in the nick of time:

After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. (Gen 27:30)

Here’s an amazing picture! Jacob has just barely left the room, dressed in his brother’s clothing, when here comes Esau! They just missed each other! Isn’t this something out of “Days of Our Lives?” Esau is about to explode! Tomorrow we are going to look at the response of Esau, and the ramifications of his own choices. Stay tuned, it just gets better!

 

Genesis 27:14-29

Having entered into a scheme to deceive Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob now carry it out. Jacob gets the goats and Rebekah starts preparing a great meal. She dresses Jacob in Esau’s best clothes and covers his hands and neck in goat fur, so he’ll feel as hairy as his brother, which gives you a better understanding of what Esau must have looked like! :) Finally, she sends Jacob in to see his father.

He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”

 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.”

 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.

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.”

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.” He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

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. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him . . . (Gen 27:18-27)

I’ve included the whole scene here, because it is such a great lesson in discernment. You can see from this exchange that Isaac is suspicious from the start. First, he is surprised by the speedy return from the hunt. Then, the voice doesn’t sound like Esau, so the skeptical Isaac has his son come closer so he can feel him. The hands feel like Esau, but Isaac is still unconvinced. He has his son move closer and asks him outright, “Are you really my son Esau?” It isn’t until Jacob moves close enough to kiss his father that Isaac is finally convinced by the smell of Esau’s clothing.

Isaac had plenty of warning signs that something was amiss - I’m sure his spiritual antennae were twitching! Yet, he ignored the clear warning signs and gave in to what he could understand with his physical sense of smell. Isaac should have slowed down and thought this through. He could have asked some probing questions. I’m sure, since Esau was his favorite, that Isaac had some shared memories with Esau that only he and Esau would know that he could have used as a further test, like, “Retell the story of our first hunt together.” Instead, Isaac plows ahead with the giving of the blessing.

Beth Moore writes, “The moral of the story thus far might be this: pay attention to your suspicions . . . even if everything smells right.”(The Patriarchs, P. 121)

And did you catch how Jacob invoked God’s name in this deception? “The LORD your God gave me success.” Hmm. . . it wasn’t “The LORD my God” but “your God.” I wonder if those words pricked Jacob’s heart. To boldly lie using God’s name is a scary thing to do! Yet, how many schemes are promoted in God’s name? The television is full of those who use God’s name to further their own. How careful we have to be when we attempt to serve God that we are truly doing it in His name and not our own.

The whole ugly truth about this family is included in God’s Word for a reason. Not because God didn’t love these people - He commends them for their faith in the New Testament. But, He wants us to see our sinful nature for what it is. If we don’t understand our need for a Savior, we will miss the point of Jesus’s work on the cross. He came to save ALL of us, including this particular dysfunctional family, from our sins! And they are many!

We’ll look at the blessing specifically next time. Have a restful Memorial Day weekend!

Genesis 27:11-13

Today as we continue with the “soap opera” that is Genesis 27, we return to the plotting between Jacob and Rebekah.

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 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.”

His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” (Gen 27:11-13)

Rebekah’s willingness to take on a curse astounded me when I first read it. Possibly, she just meant, “I’ll take the wrath of your father if I need to, just to be sure that you get that blessing that God promised!” But the really telling phrase here is “Just do what I say!” Oh, my goodness! Here is the heart of the problem - what EVERY woman utters at one time or another - Just do what I say! Isn’t this the picture of the woman who wants to control every outcome in her household? This is such a “motherly” tendency! We are so sure that we know what is best for our husbands and our children, that we don’t think twice about manipulating circumstances in order to get our own way. We even dress that desire up as selfless. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help my family!” It could be something as simple as what everyone will wear to church on Sunday, or what car we’ll buy, or something more consequential, like where the children will go to college and whom they’ll marry.

Beth Moore points out that she also uses the phrase, “...go and get them for me.” Again, the Bible is almost brutal in opening up our sinful hearts! There is nothing to wink at with sin! Our primary problem is that “I” is in the middle of S-I-N! Rebekah knows that God has declared that “the older will serve the younger.” No doubt this has colored the way she viewed these boys from the beginning. And she knows without a doubt that this IS God’s will. However, her mistake here is in not letting God be God. She feels the need to help Him out. And because Jacob is the one she loves, this is as much about her as it is about Jacob’s destiny.

No matter how much we want the best for our children, there is always a little bit about us in there... I don’t think we can fully separate that self-interest on this side of heaven, but we certainly must be aware of it and guard against it, and be prayerful about letting God have HIS way in us. One of the things I pray every morning as I get out of bed is Psalm 19:14:

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

I so don’t trust my thoughts and I so desperately need to control my tongue, so I try to give them to God every morning. The Bible tells me that my heart is desperately wicked, so I need to give it to God, or I will be following my own self-interest all day long! I’m feeling much more empathetic with Rebekah now. But the ramifications of this deception will be long-lasting. LORD, help us learn these lessons deep within our hearts!!!

Genesis 27:1-12

Who needs soap operas when we have the Bible?? This chapter of Genesis is filled with intrigue and deception and betrayal - and is reminiscent of an episode of “Dallas,” in which Bobby and JR fight over the rights to the Ewing fortune (and if you understand that analogy, you are old)!

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 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.” (Gen.27:1-4)

Certainly Isaac is failing in health here, at the age of about 137, but the reality is he lived 43 more years! However, he knows how to manipulate his son into getting him his favorite meal! And Esau? According to Jon Courson’s commentary he was about 77 years old at this point. I think in those days, “seventy was the new twenty!” So Isaac is ready to give his deathbed blessing to his favorite son, Esau. Rebekah, in the meantime, who prefers Jacob over Esau, hears this conversation and comes up with a way to change the outcome.

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, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘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.’ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 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. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” (vs. 5-10)

In fairness to Rebekah, God had told her while she was still pregnant that Jacob would be the son of blessing (Gen. 25:23), so she may have just been trying to help God out here. Courson points out that she knew God’s Word, and may have thought she was doing God’s work. But you’ll notice that she does not pray and seek God’s will or help. She goes full steam ahead with her plot. How many times do we do this? We are anxious to do something “for God,” so we plow right on with our plans, not seeking anything more than God’s name attached to the project - “LORD, please bless this ministry I’m devoting to You,” instead of “LORD, show me what You want me to do, even if it means waiting and just being still.” Could the sovereign LORD of the universe have somehow intervened or turned around the situation? Of course He could have! But in a panic, Rebekah proceeds with her plan. Note that she invoked God’s name when she misquoted Isaac! Isaac had not said, “in the presence of the LORD...” - Rebekah added that. Let’s look at how Jacob reacts:

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 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.” (vs. 11-12)

At first glance it may seem that Jacob is attempting to stop his mother here. But Jon Courson points out that Jacob is really more concerned with his reputation rather than his actual character here. He doesn’t want his father to believe he’s deceptive, even though he clearly is deceptive, because he quickly goes along with her without any further objections. He’s not worried about what God will know about him - he’s worried about what man will think about him! Ouch! LORD, show us where we have that same mindset!

And I’m just going to be cogitating on that one for the rest of the day!