Lesson Iii.b.3: Esau's Disappointment Series

January 24, 2015

Commentary on the Book of Genesis

By: Tom Lowe

Lesson III.B.3: Esau's Disappointment. (Genesis 27:30-40).

(Genesis 27:30-40) (KJV)

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed .

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

Introduction to Verses 30-40

When Jacob had fooled his father and obtained the blessing, Esau (30) was close by, and busy preparing meat he had brought in from the hunt. Unaware of Jacob’s act, he took the savory meat (31) to Isaac his father (32), fully expecting to receive the blessing. Isaac was amazed to hear his voice and knew immediately what had happened. He had been tricked. The old man was shaken till he trembled very exceedingly (33). The blessing he had given was of the “once for all” type and could not be revoked. The extent of Esau’s reaction is seen in his great and exceeding bitter cry (34) and his plaintive plea that his father would still bless him. Hebrews 12:17 notes that Esau’s serious mistake was his sale of the birthright (25:29-34) and that now his efforts to repair that error were too late, for he had never really repented of his earlier foolishness. Esau placed the entire blame on Jacob (36), but his brother’s guilt could not justify his own.

Isaac could think only of the completeness of his act of blessing Jacob and it was only after Esau’s persistent pleading that he consented to grant Esau a lesser blessing.

Esau was also to have prosperity. But he would have to live by the sword (40) and accept the role of a servant to Jacob and his descendants for a time, after which he had the right to break his yoke from off his neck.

Commentary

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

Old Isaac was just nodding off to sleep when the tent flap was raised again. He sat bolt upright. There could be no mistaking that boisterous greeting “Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me” (31). Esau had come to collect what had never belonged to him at all.

Jacob had a close call and almost met Esau returning from the hunt. What lies would Jacob have told to explain why he was wearing Esau’s clothes and why he had goat’s hair on his arms? [He might have said he was going to a masquerade party.] It didn’t take long for Isaac and Esau to discover the conspiracy, but each man responded differently.