Written by: Gillan Scott

Genesis 27 v 1-4
When Isaac was old, his eyesight was poor, so he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “Son.”
Esau answered, “Here I am.”
Isaac said, “I am old and don’t know when I might die. So take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the field for an animal for me to eat. When you prepare the tasty food that I love, bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” 

Notes
I wonder if you’ve ever thought about what you would put in your will. I’m 28 and the last time I spoke to my financial adviser he suggested that my wife and I consider writing one. I’m sure I’ll get round to it at some stage. It’s just something I haven’t really begun thinking about yet.

When Isaac was alive, a spoken blessing to a son from a father on his deathbed such as this had legal force, much as a will does today. It was through this spoken blessing that Isaac intended to pass on all of God’s blessings that he himself had received from his father, Abraham. He wanted to give them to his eldest son, Esau along with the largest share of his wealth.

Isaac was fully aware of the ways God had blessed him and his family and was keen to see this passed on to the next generation. Often as Christians we don’t always understand or even know of all the blessings that God has given us. However, the more we learn about God’s blessings, the easier it is to see the amazing way God loves and cares for us.

There’s a phrase I once heard that I like to remind myself of occasionally: “God has blessed me in order that I might bless others.” As Isaac knew, God’s blessings are not to be hoarded selfishly but shared with others. Think about the ways in which God has blessed you. Today how might you be able to share with others some of the good things God has given you?

Genesis 27 v 5-10
So Esau went out in the field to hunt.
Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. She said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father saying to your brother Esau, ‘Kill an animal and prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ So obey me, my son, and do what I tell you. Go out to our goats and bring me two of the best young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. Then you will take the food to your father, and he will bless you before he dies.”

Notes
And so the plot thickens. Why was Isaac’s wife Rebekah so keen to make sure that her youngest son, Jacob received the blessing rather than his elder twin, Esau? Normally there would be no question of the eldest son receiving a father’s blessing and the majority of the inheritance. The answer lies in an earlier part of the story. In chapter 25 of Genesis we read: “Jacob was a quiet man and stayed among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob” (Genesis 25 v 27-28).

While Esau pleased his father by doing the “manly” thing of becoming a skilled hunter, Jacob stayed around at home being “mummy’s boy”. It was the intensity of Rebekah’s love of Jacob over Esau that drove her to find a way for Jacob to take the birthright of the firstborn that should have been Esau’s.

Favouritism is such an easy thing to slip into with relationships. It can happen between parents and children, friends, teachers and pupils, in the workplace and many other contexts. Often we do it because it is the easiest and most enjoyable option. We do it for selfish reasons in order to get something back in return. Favouritism begins when we discriminate positively towards this person at the expense of others. It can lead to envy, jealousy and hate.

Can you imagine what it would be like if God showed favouritism in this way? Some of the most important aspects of our faith, like grace and mercy, would be shattered. If we are to follow God’s example then favouritism is something we can’t allow ourselves to slip into. Think about where you can see favouritism happening in your life and ask God to help you deal positively with it.

Genesis 27 v 11-13
But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth! If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me but will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him.”
So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said and go, get the goats for me.”

Notes
Saying “No” to someone you love or respect can be difficult. In this instance, Jacob was more worried about the thought of getting found out by his father rather than actually cheating on him. But he still had to make the decision as to whether he should go along with his mother’s plan or not. Rebekah encouraged him to make his mind up quickly by giving him the impression that if it went wrong she would take the blame and therefore remove the responsibility from him.

Have you ever been in a situation where you have been persuaded to do something you know to be wrong by your family or friends? We go along with it because the thought of losing face and being seen to be a coward is worse than doing something we are against. God knows that we find it difficult to do the right thing sometimes and go against what everyone else is telling us, but he rewards those who stick to their beliefs.

There are many places in the world where standing up and declaring your faith as a Christian is a dangerous thing to do. If you go against your family’s beliefs and convert from another religion to Christianity you risk being totally rejected and even being killed. For those who choose to follow Jesus in these places, the decision comes at a great cost. God wants us to put our security in him rather than trying to gain friendship and recognition from those who would encourage us to do wrong. He knows that his way is the best for us.

Ask God to give you the strength to follow his ways through both the easy and difficult times.

Genesis 27 v 14-17
So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother, and she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house and put them on the younger son Jacob. She also took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

Notes
Food is great, especially doughnuts in my case. Isaac had a particular fondness not for doughnuts but rather fresh stew. Rebekah knew that a well-cooked meal would soften up Isaac and increase Jacob’s chances of getting his father’s blessing. This liking for stew was something that was not only held by Isaac, but also by his eldest son, Esau. In fact Esau’s liking of food was so overwhelming that it ended up costing him greatly.

In Genesis chapter 25 we read of an occasion when Esau had come home from a particularly unsuccessful hunting trip. He found Jacob with a pot of stew and being very hungry demanded he have some to eat. Not wanting to waste this opportunity to take advantage of his brother’s situation, Jacob offered to sell Esau the food in exchange for his birthright as the eldest brother. Esau’s birthright was the most valuable thing he had as the firstborn son. It would lead him into wealth and God’s blessing when Isaac died. However, he decided to accept Jacob’s offer and exchange it for a filling meal in order to satisfy his stomach’s cravings.

To throw away your inheritance for a decent meal may seem ridiculous and stupid to us, but many people do a similar thing with their lives. Each one of us is given the opportunity to share our life with God and spend eternity with him. As a Christian I can’t think of a better gift than this. And yet people constantly reject God’s offer. Instead they pursue selfish alternatives to him that may bring brief satisfaction, but leave them ultimately empty and without hope. Ask God to help you show his great gift to someone you know over the next few days.

Genesis 27 v 18-20
Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.”
And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?”
Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me.”
But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?”
Jacob answered, “Because the LORD your God helped me to find it.”

Notes
So Jacob moved in for the kill. Having had his mother prepare him and set him up, it was now down to him and his nerves to pull the deception off. As is often the case when we try to cover our backs or mislead someone, one lie is never enough. Everything Jacob said was untrue. One lie leads to the next.

When Jacob and Esau were born as twins, Esau was the first to be delivered. As he came out, the hand of his brother was holding on tight to his heel. As the second son was born he was given the name Jacob, which means: “He that grasps the heel.” To grasp someone’s heel was a Hebrew saying that meant to trick or deceive someone. So Jacob’s name can also mean: “He deceives.”

Many years later Jacob was putting the meaning of his name into practice. His name had become his personality. We have a term “self-fulfilling prophecy”, which means that you end up becoming what you have been told you will be like. You believe what you have heard so strongly that you can’t imagine being any other way. I see this all the time in people’s lives, including my own. A boy is told by his teacher that he is stupid and will never succeed academically, and so gives up trying to achieve and ends up failing his exams. This is just one example.

Words and labels are incredibly powerful things. We don’t always realise the damage we can do by making certain comments about others. Maybe you’ve been hurt in this way. The good news is that God can heal even deep wounds if we allow him to work in us.

Genesis 27 v 21-24
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. Then I will know if you are really my son Esau.”
So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.” Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands, so Isaac blessed him. Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.”

Notes
Right up until the end, Isaac had trusted his son. Despite his blindness he sensed that something was wrong but did not doubt Jacob’s answers. Given what we have seen of Isaac’s family, this seems pretty unwise as both his wife and sons had their own agenda when it came to his blessing and inheritance. So Isaac agreed to bless Jacob, thinking him to be Esau, and Jacob and Rebekah’s plan succeeded with Esau none the wiser at this stage.

The amazing part of this story is that Jacob did indeed receive God’s blessing on his life. Despite all the deceit and lies, God’s promise of prosperity was passed on from his grandfather, Abraham, through Isaac and then on to Jacob.

This is a perfect example of the way God’s promises stay in place even though we sometimes do our best to mess them up. Our failures and selfishness do not stop God from loving and caring about us. Many times I have done things that I know have been wrong and the exact opposite of what God wants me to do, and yet he keeps forgiving me.

If God could bless Jacob and use his life for his purposes, despite all the wrong that he did, then I’m sure he can do the same for each one of us. Don’t let your failures get in the way of your relationship with God. Ask God honestly to forgive you and change your life for the better. He will answer your prayers because he never breaks his promises.

Genesis 27 v 25-29
Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food, and I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and he ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said,
“The smell of my son is like the smell of the field that the LORD has blessed.
May God give you plenty of rain and good soil so that you will have plenty of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
May you be master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May everyone who curses you be cursed, and may everyone who blesses you be blessed.”

Notes
Here we see the blessing that Isaac bestowed upon his son. If you follow the story of Jacob over the next few chapters of Genesis, you’ll be able to see how this blessing began to take shape. Later in his life, God gave Jacob the new name of Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, and through them the twelve tribes of Israel were founded. A whole nation descended from Jacob, and the rest of the Bible is the story of this nation. Many centuries later, Jesus was born as one of Jacob’s descendants. Through Jesus, God’s blessing extended beyond Israel and out to the rest of the world.

We as Christians, though we may not be directly descended from Jacob, still share in the same eternal inheritance from God that Jacob received. The same God who blessed Jacob blesses us today.

Ever since the start of time God has been working out his plan to bless the human race. He already had history mapped out with Jesus at the centre. God had a plan for Jacob. We can still see the effects of God’s plan for him all around the world now.

God has a plan for each one of us too. It might not have the profound effects on the world that Jacob’s life did, but God can still use us, no matter what our background, to make a difference. God’s blessings are there to give us hope and freedom. Accept these blessings in your life and stay faithful to God and you will be amazed by how God can use you.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes