Genesis 27 - Isaac Blesses Jacob

https://freedailybiblestudy.com/january-24th-bible-meditation-genesis-25/

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2019/10/genesis.html
"Jacob deceives Isaac on his deathbed and steals a blessing that was for Esau.  Now Jacob has taken Esau's birthright and his blessing.  Esau weeps because he is made to serve his brother and does not get a blessing.  As a result, Esau holds a grudge against Jacob, so Esau determines to kill Jacob.  Rebekah tells Jacob of Esau's plan and tells him to flee to her brother, Laban's, house in Haran."

Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..

• "Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.” Isaac said, “See here, I am old; I do not know when I may die. So now, please take your [hunting] gear, your quiver [of arrows] and your bow, and go out into the open country and hunt game for me; and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], the kind I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you [as my firstborn son] before I die.” v.1-4

• "So now, my son, listen [carefully] to me [and do exactly] as I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat]. Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” v.8-10

• "Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land],

And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be lord and master over your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
And may those who bless you be blessed.” v.28-29

• "Then Isaac trembled violently, and he said, “Then who was the one [who was just here] who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I blessed him. Yes, and he [in fact] shall be (shall remain) blessed.” When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” v.33-34

• "Esau replied, “Is he not rightly named Jacob (the supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” v.36

• "So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” v.41

• "So now, my son, listen and do what I say; go, escape to my brother Laban in Haran! Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s anger subsides. When your brother’s anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?” v.43-45

My personal observations and reflections...

• BLINDNESS. Isaac is now old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. At this point, he called the firstborn-- Esau his favorite child-- to go hunting and prepare him a delicious food he loves, so he can bless him afterwards. After being disappointed and experiencing misery when Esau married the Hittite women, I wonder why Isaac still wants to give the 'birthright' blessing to Esau. Is it because he is just following the custom/rule about the eldest/firstborn child? Maybe, it is also because he loved/favored Esau more than Jacob.. Anyway, I guess Isaac thinks he is just doing the right thing by 'blessing the firstborn'.. 

The next events will be messy and will have a lot of twist! I will just keep in my mind that it is God who is sovereign and it is Him who sees the 'big picture' of His plans.

• REBEKAH OVERHEARS. JACOB DISGUISES. Knowing the insight that God had given her when she was struggling in her pregnancy of the twins, “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)-- Rebekah must have thought "No way!" when she overheard Isaac's plan. 

I wonder if there are other options for Rebekah and her son Jacob aside from 'deception', but we read that they went that way. With the help of Jacob, Rebekah thought of preparing the dish for Isaac, so Jacob will be the one to get the blessing. However, there are great differences between the twin brothers. Esau is hairy and he has a different smell. So Rebekah made Jacob wear Esau's choice clothes, and "she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck." It almost seems to me that Jacob didn't want to do it eventhough he really wants the firstborn birthright and blessings. His mother Rebekah even told him “May your curse be on me, my son; only listen and obey me, and go, bring the young goats to me.” (v.13)

Maybe her curse was this: "Rebekah never saw her son Jacob again. He was well over forty and probably fifty-seven years old when he fled from Esau to Haran, and he stayed there at least twenty years." (Bible Footnotes, Genesis 27:45)

This is a case of doing the right thing in a bad way, or a wrong method. Sinning is bad, and it always has consequences. We will see in the next chapters how Jacob will also suffer from this, but the good thing is, we will also see God's redemption, and how He will still faithfully fulfill His covenant promises even through weak, sinful, human beings. It's amazing how all the Bible characters are relatable, and how they are like you and me, in a sense. The Bible is very transparent in a way that-- despite our sinful nature and tendencies, God is still good and He is able to save us.

• ISAAC DOUBTS, BUT STILL BLESSED JACOB. Jacob finally went to his father, with the intent of posing as Esau and stealing the blessing. If only Jacob was the firstborn, all of these things did not have to happen, but I think God is showing us something here. Something that we can all learn from in terms of trusting God and obeying Him..

Despite doubting a little, the old and almost blind Isaac ended up blessing Jacob. The plan was a success, however..

* Bible Footnotes: Genesis 27:7 The patriarch’s formal blessing, offered before the Lord, was equivalent to an inalterable command and prophecy, whose outcome was assured. For that reason it had great importance and tangible value, especially for the firstborn son. When Esau sold his birthright (25:33), he did not imagine that, as a consequence, he would actually lose the blessing to which he had originally been entitled as the firstborn.

• ESAU FOUND OUT. When Esau first sold his birthright over a bowl of red stew, Genesis 25:33-34 states "So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."

This time, when he found out that Jacob once again did it, by getting the blessing from their father Isaac, he wept loudly.

* This is an interesting interpretation:
"Both Isaac and Esau are grieved when they figure out what Jacob did, and now Esau is concerned about the birthright!  Previously (in Genesis 25:22-34), he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew, and he despised his birthright.  Now he wants not the spiritual, but the material and political advantages of the birthright."  –David Guzik  Dwelling in the Word

• A LESSER BLESSING FOR ESAU. MURDEROUS ANGER. When Esau plead for his father's blessing, he also got one. But some says it's more like a curse, than a blessing. This leads him to be angry, to the point of wanting to kill Jacob. I wonder what he will do if he also learned about his mother's participation? 

Sin that leads to other sins (Deception, Anger), a pattern that we often see in this world, sadly.
* "Esau, also known as Edom, will become the father of the Edomite nation.  Edom is east of southern Canaan in what is now Jordan.  Edom was under Israelite control during the reign of King David, but successfully revolted during the reign of King Solomon." –Linda B. Hinton Dwelling in the Word

• ESCAPE PLAN. Rebekah then told Jacob to run away and go to Haran, where her brother Laban lives. I guess there is no other choice. Sin spiraled, and if one won't go away, there could be violence and death between brothers, and Rebekah does not want that. We also read by the end of the chapter how frustrated Rebekah is towards Esau's wives, so she said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” (v.46)

I can't help but think that Rebekah is like her father-in-law Abraham here, she wants a wife for Jacob from their family line, and not from outsiders (pagan, Hittites, etc.) Now, we know that it will happen, and out of Abraham-Isaac-Jacob's lineage, God's covenant promise that ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WILL BE BLESSED through the birth of Jesus-- the Savior and King, will be fulfilled.

* Bible Footnotes: Genesis 27:2 Isaac lived another forty-three years after this blessing was given to Jacob (35:27-29).

 https://quotesta.com/christian-leadership-quotes-5/

Read the Bible here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+27&version=AMP