November 23, 2024
Last week we were introduced to Jacob and Esau - the sons of Isaac and Rebekah. While Esau will play a bit part, the remainder of Genesis will be devoted to Jacob and his children.
“Conflict, tension, faith and finally, reconciliation are key themes in Jacob’s story. Caught between a father committed to following tradition and a mother, who had heard God’s voice and schemed to help God along, the son of the blessing experienced numerous mountaintops and valleys as he grew into the man who would become Israel.” (ABC 172)
As we noted, Esau was not suited to receive the birthright because it was tied directly the continuation of the covenant God made with Abraham, and yet Isaac was determined that he should have it.
Isaac was now old and blind and he was concerned that his death was imminent (in truth he’d live another 40 years), so he called Esau to his side, but excluded Rebekah and Jacob:
“My son, I am now an old man and I might die soon. Get your weapons and go out into the fields and bring back some wild game. Prepare a savory meal for me and I will give you the birthright blessing before I die.”
Rebekah overheard the conversation between Isaac and his favorite son and immediately put into motion her own plan for her favorite son……
Esau headed out on his hunt and Rebekah called Jacob over:
“Look son, I overheard your father’s conversation with Esau. He is about to bestow the birthright blessing on him, so listen carefully. Go out to the flock and bring me 2 young goats. I will prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. You take the food to your father so that he will give you the birthright blessing.”
“But mother, Esau is hairy ---- I am not. What if father wants to touch me? He will know I’m not Esau and he’ll think I am trying to trick him. That will bring a curse on me rather than a blessing”
“Great observation, son, but don’t worry about it, just do as I tell you. Let the curse fall on me.”
Jacob did as he was told.
Meanwhile, Rebekah got some of Esau’s best clothes out of the laundry. When the meal was ready, she put those clothes on Jacob and then covered the exposed bits with goatskin. “Esau” was now ready to go into Isaac.
“Father?”
“Yes, who’s there?”
“It’s me, Esau. I have brought your favorite meal. Please come and sit down and eat and give me your blessing.”
“I am surprised you’re back so soon.”
“Yahweh gave me success.”
“Come here so I can touch you, so that I can know for sure that you are Esau.”
Jacob went to Isaac and he touched him.
“You sound like Jacob, but you are hairy like Esau. Are you really Esau?”
“Yes, father, I am.”
Genesis 27:27-29 - So Jacob came close and kissed Isaac; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed; now may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine; may peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; be master of your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you."
And so, Jacob received the birthright blessing.
He had barely left Isaac’s tent, when Esau came in from his hunt. He also prepared a tasty meal and took it to Isaac.
“Father, I am back. Sit up now and eat the meal I have prepared for you and give me your blessing.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Esau, your firstborn son.”
“Who was it then that brought me a tasty meal just now? I ate it before you came in and I blessed him – and he will surely receive the blessing.”
With a bitter cry Esau exclaimed, “Bless me too, father!”
“Your brother deceived me and took your blessing.”
“Boy you named him correctly – that heel grabber! He has deceived me twice. He took the birthright and now he has taken the blessing! Haven’t you got an extra blessing for me?”
"I have made him lord over you and the rest of the family. I have nothing for you."
“Please, father, bless me too…. just one little blessing!”
What he received was an “anti-blessing” of sorts.
“You will live away from the fertility of the earth, away from the dew of heaven. By your sword you will live and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." (see 2 kings 8:20, 22)
God, in his foreknowledge had said the younger brother would rule the older brother, but does that mean that what Jacob did was right and honorable or that it was a part of God’s plan? NO! What Rebekah and Jacob did was sin in the eyes of God – make no mistake about that. God will certainly bless Jacob, but he will not protect him from the consequences of his choices. Those, like the blessing, will follow him for the rest of his life.
Esau’s hands were not clean either – remember the bowl of stew – but that didn’t keep him from being angry and resentful of what Jacob had done. He held a grudge and swore that after Isaac died, he would make sure Jacob was not far behind.
When Rebekah was told of Esau’s plan, she sent for Jacob:
“Your brother is planning to kill you, so do what I say. Leave here and go to my brother, Laban in Haran. Stay there until Esau gets over his plans for revenge. When he is no longer angry, I will send word and you can come home.”
To Isaac she said. “I am totally disgusted by Esau’s choice for wives. I cannot stand these Hittite women! If Jacob takes a wife from among these people too, my life will not be worth living!”
Isaac called Jacob in and blessed him and commanded him saying, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go, instead, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, her brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants that you may take possession of the land in which you are currently an alien and stranger, the land he gave to Abraham."
Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob would never see his mother again.
The death of Rebekah is not recorded in the Bible, but we do know two things:
• She died before Jacob returned home from his 20 years in exile.
• She was buried in the cave of Machpelah alongside Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 49:31).
So, Jacob left Beersheba and headed for Haran – 630 miles away.
When Esau learned that Jacob was gone and that he had been blessed and instructed not to marry a Canaanite woman, he realized just how much his parents did not like Canaanite women. So, what did he do? He went straight out and married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael.
Meanwhile, Jacob was on the run. He stopped for the night “at a certain place.” He took a stone and, using it for a pillow, laid down to sleep.
What do you think Jacob was thinking? Was he pleased with his choices? Was he afraid? Did he have regrets?
Soon he was asleep and he had a dream – a dream so famous we sing about it to this day:
“We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. Soldiers of the cross.”
Genesis 28:12-15 - And he saw a ladder, set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Above it stood Yahweh, and he said: "I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Do you see the grace and mercy and faithfulness of God? Jacob was surely not worthy of the Covenant Blessings and yet Yahweh made the same promises to him that he had made to Abraham and Isaac:
I am with you…….
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth…..
I will bring you back to this land…….
Through you all the families of the earth will be blessed…….
He met Jacob where he was – in his brokenness, in his shame, in his fear - in his failure of faith – and promised to restore him.
When Jacob woke-up, he was afraid and thought, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I was not aware of it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
In the morning, he took his stone pillow and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on it. He called that place Bethel, (though the city used to be called Luz).
Then he made a vow, "Because God has promised to be with me and watch over me on this journey and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Jacob continued his journey and eventually came to the land of the eastern peoples.
Until Next Time……………
