Verses 1-4 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
It is very possible that Isaac was suffering from bilateral cataracts so that the light entering his eyes was diminished, making his vision seem dim. Because he was aware that his days on the Earth were coming to a close, Isaac wanted to bless his eldest son. Remember that Esau had given away his birthright or his position as the eldest son, and so a blessing was important to both Esau and Isaac. The Hebrew word translated as venison is “tseydah” and it can mean “victuals” or “provision” and so it is not clear if Isaac wanted deer meat or just some kind of game meat prepared by Esau.
Verses 5-10 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
Jacob had the advantage of time since his goats were just standing out in the field whereas Esau was after wild game and had to hunt for it.
Application: Believers are to be like Christ who is not a respecter of persons. Christ loves all his children equally. For believers to treat any of their children in a preferential manner is not being Christ-like. Rebecca plotted to have her favorite son, Jacob, receive both the birthright and the blessing, thereby basically cheating her other son, Esau, out of his inheritance. Yes, God had determined before their birth that Jacob would rule over Esau, but Rebecca was intervening, giving the believer an example of how not to parent.
Verses 11-12 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
Jacob is smart enough to know that he cannot replicate his brother Esau in appearance, but he did not seem to be worried about being a deceiver, but appeared to be worried only about being caught and the possible consequences of exposure.
Verses 13-17 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
It seems that Rebekah had the deception all planned out and that her actions were not “spur of the moment” actions. Notice that she was willing to be cursed in order to achieve her goals for her son. As it turns out, she did receive punishment for her deception against her husband, Isaac, and against her son, Esau.
Application: Believing parents are to be encouraging and prayerful in helping their children succeed. There is no place in the Kingdom of God for deception and manipulation.
Verses 18-19 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
Jacob adds lying to his deception. However, remember that there was no law from God at this time and so it seems that divine judgement and punishment was withheld as a law could not be broken if it did not exist. Later, Moses wrote, under the inspiration of the LORD, the Ten Commandments that dealt with lying and coveting.
Verses 20-23 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
Now Jacob made God complicit in his deception claiming that the LORD made it easy for him to find the game he was supposedly after. Isaac seemed to have doubts, but after feeling the skins that were hiding the real Jacob, he believed the lies.
Application: Believers often have a hard time discerning truth from lies when dealing with other believers and unbelievers alike. The LORD promises to give believers the spiritual gift of discernment. Ask Him to help in this regard as, unfortunately, lying and deceiving have become the norm in society today, especially in the areas of news and information, academia, and politics. One of this writer’s favorite sayings is “Everything I have been told is a lie.” Always test what is being said or done against the Word of God and the truth will shine forth in this dark world. Be especially suspect if a person claims that he/she has a word from the LORD. Remember that if the believer is in right relationship with God, He will talk with that believer and no middle person is required. Be vigilant.
Verses 24-27 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
Isaac still was not sure that he was talking to his favorite son Esau. He wanted to smell his clothing for a positive identification. Jacob had no trouble lying to his father. Perhaps there was a lack of respect between the two men. Regardless, it would seem that the favoritism Isaac and Rebekah had shown their two sons was bearing negative fruit.
Verses 28-29 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
Because Jacob had Esau’s birthright, material things were already his. This blessing had to do with prosperity and dominance. God honored these blessings. Isaac gave to Jacob future riches from the agricultural economy that existed in those days and he gave him dominance over relatives and nations. He also pronounced curses upon any person or nation that may oppose Jacob. History shows that the nation Israel was blessed by God, became prosperous, and dominated neighboring nations.
Verses 30-33 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.
Notice that Esau made a point of telling Isaac that he was his firstborn son. This writer believes that Esau was still very much upset at the actions of his brother Jacob in taking his birthright. Even though Esau gave the birthright away for a meal, he most likely would have blamed Jacob. After all, a brother should help in time of need and not charge for his help. Isaac was very upset because the Scripture reports that he “trembled very exceedingly”. The reader is left to imagine Isaac’s emotions at this particular moment. Instead of getting respect from his younger son, he got deceit and abuse. Jacob clearly had taken advantage of his father’s age and infirmity to get what he wanted. It must have been very emotionally hurtful to Isaac. And he could not retrieve the blessing he had given to Jacob. Perhaps this is the first recorded incident of elder abuse in the Bible. You decide.
Application: Nursing homes today are full of abandoned elderly people. Often it is forgotten that these souls are people loved by God and therefore of value. Society and families throw them away like garbage and hide them in “care” facilities so that they become the forgotten. Looking for a ministry? Go to one of these facilities and volunteer to interact with the residents. Just sitting with them or helping them put their shoes and socks on or reading to them shows them that they are not forgotten and forsaken. Think about it.
Verses 34-36 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?
The Hebrew word translated as “subtilty” is “mirmah” and it appears 39 times. It is translated as “deceit” 20 times, “deceitful” 8 times, “deceitfully” 3 times, “false” 2 times, etc, but only as “subtilty” 1 time in the verse above. It may be wondered why the King James translators chose not to use deceit and this writer does not have the answer. However, a reminder that Jacob’s name meant “supplanter” and he lived up to his name in his treatment of his brother Esau. Notice that Esau lacked character in that he did indeed blame his brother Jacob regarding the loss of his birthright. He did not acknowledge that his birthright was his to keep or to sell, and that he voluntarily sold it for a bowl of food. It was his choice, and instead of admitting his folly, he blamed his brother. He failed to take responsibility for his actions.
Verses 37-40 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.
Isaac’s blessing for Esau meant that he and his descendants would live off the land and live by the sword. For a time, the descendants of Esau would be subservient to the descendants of Jacob, but eventually they would break free. Historically this came to pass, but the details of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, will not be presented here in the study of Genesis.
Verses 41-45 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. 42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
Rebekah knew her sons and their temperament. Esau, the hunter, was fully capable of killing his brother and he was full of anger and unforgiveness. He was just waiting for his father to die so that Isaac would not have any further grief. Jacob was not a hunter and most likely not adept at fighting and it was doubtful that a battle with Esau would go in his favor. So fleeing the scene was Rebekah’s solution, believing that it would be for only a short time. It was not. To give Jacob a rational reason for leaving home at a time Isaac was failing physically, she dropped the hint to Isaac in the next verse that it was time for Jacob to get a wife from his kindred back in Haran.
Verse 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?