The chapter discusses the failures of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau in their pursuit of blessings and success, highlighting their lack of trust in God's plan. It presents the complexities of character within the chosen family, emphasizing the blend of good and bad traits in Jacob, who ultimately becomes a figure of divine grace despite his flaws. The narrative serves as a reflection on human shortcomings and the importance of divine grace, underscoring that God's purposes prevail regardless of human actions.

1. GE ESIS 27 COMME TARY
WRITTE A D EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1. This is a chapter about failure, for Isaac failed to get his son Esau blest, and
Rebekah failed to see her son Jacob blest, for he left and she never saw him again.
Esau failed to get the blessing he wanted, and Jacob also failed to get blest in the
sense of having the inheritance, for he took off and never got it. Everyone was
fighting for success and all ended up failing to just trust God to work it out in his
way.
2. C. H. MACKI TOSH
And, be it remembered, that in setting before us, in faithful love, all the traits of
man's character, it is simply with a view to magnify the riches of divine grace, and
to admonish our souls. It is not, by any means, in order to perpetuate the memory of
sins, for ever blotted out from His sight. The blots, the failures, and the errors of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have been perfectly washed away, and they have taken
their place amid "the spirits of just men made perfect;" but their history remains,
on the page of inspiration, for the display of God's grace, and for the warning of
God's people in all ages; And, moreover, that we my distinctly see that the blessed
God has not been dealing With perfect men and women, but with those of "like
passions as we are" that He has been walking and bearing with the same failures,
the same infirmities, the same errors, as those over which we mourn every day. This
is peculiarly comforting to the heart; and it may well stand in striking contrast with
the way in which the great majority of human biographies are written, in "which,
for the most part, we find, not the history of men, but of beings devoid of error and
infirmity. histories have rather the effect of discouraging than of edifying those who
read them. They are rather histories of what men ought to be, than of what they
really are, and they are, therefore, useless to us, yea, not only useless, but
mischievous.
These chapters present to us the history of Jacob — at least, the principal scenes in that
history. The Spirit of God here sets before us the deepest instruction, first, as to God's
purpose of infinite grace; and, secondly, as to the utter worthlessness and depravity of
human nature.
There is a passage in Genesis 25:1-34 which I purposely passed over, in order to take if
up here, so that we might have the truth in reference to Jacob fully before us "And Isaac
entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of
him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her:
and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord. And the
Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be
separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;
and the elder shall serve the younger." This is referred to in Malachi, where we read, "I
have loved you, saith the Lord: yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau
Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I have loved Jacob, and hated Esau." This is again

2. referred to in Romans 9:1-33 : "For the children being not yet born, neither having done
any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
Let us now examine the chapters consecutively. Genesis 27:1-46 exhibits a most
humbling picture of sensuality, deceit, and cunning; and when one thinks of such things
in connection with the people of God, it is sad and painful to the very last degree. Yet
how true and faithful is the Holy Ghost! He must tell all out. He cannot give us a partial
picture. If he gives us a history of man, he must describe man as he is, and not as he is
not. So, if He unfolds to us the character and ways of God, He gives us God as He is. And
this, we need hardly remark, is exactly what we need. We need the revelation of one
perfect in holiness, yet perfect in grace and mercy, who could come down into all the
depth of man's need, his misery and his degradation, and deal with Him there, and raise
him up out of it into full, unhindered fellowship with Himself in all the reality of what He
is. This is what scripture gives us. God knew what we needed, and He has given it to us,
blessed be His name!
3. Jacob the schemer became Jacob the dreamer and a type of the coming redeemer.
Clarence Macartney in Old Testament Heroes says, “Jacob is the best and worst
man in the Old Testament.” Abraham and Isaac and other heroes excite our
admiration, but we cannot be like them, but we can identify with Jacob in all his
weaknesses. In him we see the dual nature we see in ourselves. Both good and bad
mixed together.
Ford-“Almost every visitation of God to this ;man that is recorded in Genesis was to
correct him, or chastise him, or break him. Jacob needed to be broken by the
hardships of life before he could learn that active obedience his grandfather
Abraham acquired, and that passive obedience his father Isaac possessed.”
“It is true he wanted God’s blessing, but it was not that he might serve God, but that
God might serve him. Jacob’s world, religious as well as secular, was entirely
bounded by Jacob.”
4. MEYER, "This chapter narrates a sad story of the chosen family. Esau is the only
character which elicits universal sympathy. Isaac appears to have sunk into premature
senility. It seems hardly credible that he who had borne the wood for the offering up
Mount Moriah, and had yielded himself so absolutely to the divine will, would have
become so keen an epicure. He could only be reached now through the senses. Perhaps
this was due to the prosperity and even tenor of his life. It is better, after all, to live the
strenuous life, with its uphill climb, than to be lapped in the ease of the valley. The
birthright had been already promised to Jacob, and there was no need for him to win it
by fraud; and Rebekah was truly blameworthy in that she deceived her husband, showed
partiality toward her children, and acted unworthily of herself. Who would have expected
that out of such a family God was about to produce the religious leaders of the world!
Pharaoh would one day crave a blessing from those kid-lined hands!

3. 5. W. H. GRIFFITH THOMAS, "NOWHERE, perhaps, is the real character of the Bible
more evident than in this chapter. The story is given in all its naked simplicity, and,
although no precise moral is pointed, the incidents carry their own solemn lesson to
every reader. All four persons concerned with the history are portrayed without
hesitation or qualification, and the narrative makes its profound impression upon the
reader by its simple but significant recital of facts. It is an unpleasant picture that we
have here presented to us, a family life full of jealousy and deceit. If love is not found in
the home, where may we expect it? And if, in particular, jealousies are found associated
with the profession of faith in God, how terrible is the revelation!
I. The Father's Plot (Ge 27:1, 2, 3, 4)
Isaac's part in the history here recorded is sometimes overlooked, and yet it is evident
that he was in large measure responsible for the sad results. In the time of old age he
calls his elder son and speaks of his own approaching death, inviting his son to prepare
food that he may eat, and at the same time give his elder son the parental and patriarchal
blessing. There does not seem to have been any real sign of approaching death, and, as a
matter of fact, Isaac lived for over forty years after this event. The hurry and secrecy
which characterized his action are also suspicious, and not the least of the sad and
deplorable elements is the association of old age with feasting, personal gratification, and
self-will. It is perfectly clear that he knew of the purposes of God concerning his younger
son (Ge 25:23), and yet here we find him endeavoring to thwart that purpose by
transferring the blessing from the one for whom it was divinely designed. This partiality
for Esau, combined with his own fleshly appetite, led the patriarch into grievous sin, and
we cannot but observe how his action set fire to the whole train of evils that followed in
the wake of his proposal.
Esau was quite ready to fall in with his father's suggestion. He must have at once recalled
the transaction with his brother whereby the birthright had been handed over to Jacob.
He must also have known the divine purpose concerning him and his brother; and
although his marriage with a Canaanitish woman had still further disqualified him for
spiritual primogeniture, it mattered nothing so long as he could recover what he now
desired to have. He realized at last the value of that which his brother had obtained from
him, and he is prompt to respond to his father's suggestion, since he sees in it the very
opportunity of regaining the lost birthright.
II. The Mother's Counter-Plot (Ge 27:5-17)
We have now to observe with equal care the part played by Rebekah. Isaac had evidently
not counted on his wife's overhearing his proposal to Esau, nor had he thought of the
possibility of her astuteness vanquishing his plot. It is necessary that we should be
perfectly clear about Rebekah's part in this transaction. Her object was to preserve for

4. Jacob the blessing that God intended for him. Her design, therefore, was perfectly
legitimate, and there can be very little doubt that it was inspired by a truly religious
motive. She thought that the purpose of God was in danger, and that there was no other
way of preventing a great wrong being done. It was a crisis in her life and in that of
Jacob, and she was prepared to go the entire length of enduring the Divine curse so long
as her favorite son could retain the blessing that God intended for him. Yet when all this
is said, and it should be continually borne in mind, the sin of Rebekah's act was utterly
inexcusable. We may account for it, but we cannot justify it. She was one of those who
take upon themselves to regard God as unable to carry out His own purposes, thinking
that either He has forgotten, or else that His will can really be frustrated by human craft
and sin. And so she dared to do this remarkably bold thing. She proved herself to be
quite as clever as Isaac and Esau.
Jacob's compliance was not immediate and hearty, for he evidently perceived the very
real risk that he was running (Ge 27:12). He also saw the sin of it in the sight of God, and
feared lest after all he should bring upon himself the Divine curse instead of the Divine
blessing. Yet, influenced and overpowered by the stronger nature of the mother, he at
length accepted the responsibility for this act, and proceeded to carry out his mother's
plans.
III. The Younger Son's Deception (Ge 27:1-29)
The preparations were quickly and skillfully made, and Jacob approached his father with
the food that his mother had prepared for him. The bold avowal that he was the first-
born was persisted in, and his aged father entirely deceived. Lie follows lie, for Jacob had
to pay the price of lies by being compelled to lie on still. Nothing in its way is more awful
than this deception. We pity Jacob as the victim of his mother's love, but we scorn and
deplore his action as the violation of his conscience and the silencing of his better nature.
The terrible thoroughness with which he carried out his mother's plans is one of the most
hideous features of the whole story.
The father's benediction is now given; and although it is mainly couched in terms of
temporal blessing, we see underlying it the thought of that wider influence suggested by
the promise of universal blessing given to Abraham and his seed.
IV. The Elder Son's Defeat (Ge 27:30-40)
It was not long before the true state of affairs came out. Isaac must have been astonished
at the discovery for more than one reason. He had thought doubtless that in blessing, as
he considered, his elder son, he had overreached both Rebekah and Jacob, and now he
finds after all that the Divine purpose has been accomplished in spite of his, own willful
attempt to divert the promise from Jacob. It is, however, to Isaac's credit that he meekly

5. accepts the inevitable, and is now quite prepared to realize that God's will must be done.
We are not surprised at Esau's behavior, for we know the true character of the man. His
bitter lamentation was due to the mortification he felt at being beaten. His cry of
disappointment was probably, if not certainly, due to the fact that he had lost the
temporal advantage of the birthright and blessing, not that he had lost the spiritual favor
of God associated with it. His indignation at Jacob, like all other anger, is characterized
by untruth; for whilst Jacob undoubtedly supplanted him, the taking away of the
birthright was as much his own free act as it was due to Jacob's superior cleverness. We
cannot help being touched by his tearful request to his father to give him even now a
blessing. He realizes, when it is too late, what has been done, and although a partial
blessing is bestowed upon him it is quite beyond all possibility that things can be as he
had desired them to be. Esau had despised his birthright, but, however it came about, he
was evidently conscious of the value of the blessing; and when the New Testament tells
us that "he found no place for repentance," it means, of course, that there was no
possibility of undoing what had been accomplished. He found no way to change his
father s mind, though he sought earnestly to bring this about (Heb.12:17-note). There is a
sense in which the past is utterly irretrievable, and it is only very partially true that "we
may be what we might have been."
6. COFFMAN, “Beginning with this chapter and throughout the rest of Genesis, the life, posterity,
and activities of Jacob are the invariable theme. In this emphasis, he takes his place as "The Israel"
of God; he was the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and remained at the head of the chosen
race until they were favorably settled in Egypt, and where they would, in time, become the mighty
nation that God had foretold in his promises to Abraham and Isaac.
The almost monotonous detail of this section is a strange mingling of righteousness and
wickedness, of successes and disasters, of heroism and knavery, of strength and weakness, and of
doubt and faith. The purpose of this detailed account would appear to be that of providing a window
of observation, from which the clear and inevitable consequences of sin are manifested in the lives
of Israel, with the necessary deduction that whatever happened to them provides a safe prophecy of
what always happens when sin is indulged. Indeed, the N.T. flatly affirms this to be true:
"Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that
through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans
15:4).SIZE>
The uniqueness and inspiration of this amazing narrative are inherent in the variety
and completeness of the revelation. What men spoke in their own hearts, the true
basis of their motivation, the secrets of their intentions, what they did in the loneliness
of the field, or upon their beds with their wives or concubines, what they did when they
were away from home, how they reacted to temptation, and why they acted as they
did, how they cheated and deceived each other, what they dreamed, the vows they
made, the sorrows they bore, the hardships they endured - on and on, the sacred
record tells it all, without dwelling long either upon their heroic deeds of faith or upon
their shameful acts of jealousy, envy or fraud. Where on earth has there ever been
another history like this one about real people?
Fiction indeed relates many intimate and private actions of its subjects, but the design

6. is never that of fairness in presenting a total picture; here in Genesis we have both
private and intimate deeds, but also fairness and continuity which never appear in
fiction. This priceless record of the Old Israel is a sacred and precious source book,
loaded with everlasting benefit for the children of the New Israel, who, if they apply
themselves, and are wise, may be able to emulate what was desirable and avoid what
was shameful in the lives of the children of the Old.
ATTEMPTED THEFT OF THE BIRTHRIGHT FRUSTRATED
"And it came to pass that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, that he
could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son: and he
said unto him, Here am I. And he said Behold now, I am old, I know not the day
of my death. Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy
bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison; and make me savory food,
such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee
before I die."
Note the heading we have given this paragraph. It contrasts vividly with that found in
many commentaries. Peake entitled it, "Jacob Cheats Esau of His Father's Blessing";
[1] and Robinson entitled it, "Jacob Steals Esau's Blessing!"[2] Such views cannot be
correct. What is in view here is a plot - initiated by Esau, concurred in by Isaac, and
long nurtured by the flattering deeds of Esau - which was designed to take back the
birthright and the blessing which conveyed it, from Jacob to whom he had sold it and
confirmed the sale with a solemn oath.
The birthright and blessing in view here did not belong to Esau. They were the property
of Jacob, by right of divine prophecy (Genesis 25:33f), a right which Esau despised
and which he had solemnly renounced, "selling it" for one mess of red beans! Whence
then are all these bold denunciations of Jacob for "cheating," "stealing," and
"defrauding his brother"? We concur in the opinion of Morris that such distortions are
the result, as well as the continuing cause, "of tremendous waves of anti-Semitism and
persecutions visited against the Jews through the centuries."[3] Morris gave that
opinion in protest of such titles as "The Stolen Blessing" in Scofield's Reference Bible.
It is a matter of extreme doubt and disobedience that Isaac would have deliberately
decided to give the birthright and blessing to Esau. He knew better, and that he
attempted to do so without the knowledge or consent of Rebekah proves it. Note in the
text, that "such as I love" reveals that Esau had long pampered his father by bringing
those tasty morsels of the hunt. And it is not amiss to understand his doing so by
design to frustrate the will of God and his own ratification of it by an oath.
Perhaps there was some attempt to rationalize his disobedience by Isaac, a thing Esau
had no doubt aided. One device would have been that of making a distinction between
"birthright" and "blessing," as noted by Esau in Genesis 27:36; but there was no
distinction! The birthright automatically carried with it the right of the patriarchal
blessing also. This right, "encompassed headship over Isaac's household, the paradise
land, nationhood with dominion, and mediatorship of divine judgment."[4] It also
included the "double portion" of the father's wealth, and the right of priesthood on
behalf of the Chosen People. Note that this "blessing" which Isaac thought he was
transferring to Esau included exactly those things pertaining to the birthright. We can
discern in the narrative Esau's false interpretation of his shameful "sale" of the
birthright, making it a partial and incomplete thing, which it was not.
These things are not presented as an approval or justification of the deceitful and sinful
things Rebekah and Jacob did in order to frustrate Isaac and Esau's evil purpose, but
an explanation of why they did so, and also a rebuttal of those over-zealous remarks

7. about what an unqualified scoundrel Jacob was. As a matter of fact, there is not a word
of rebuke from the Lord against any of the wicked deeds visible in this chapter.
Nevertheless, it is clear that, "The sin of Isaac and Esau was infinitely more
grievous."[5]
"I know not the day of my death ..." Speiser remarked that this is meaningless,
because "nobody could be said to know that!"[6] That kind of thinking has led some to
interpret the passage as meaning, "I know that I shall die soon." Despite his remark,
however, Speiser rendered the passage thus: "There's no telling when I may die." That
Isaac indeed acted in the contemplation of death is certain (Genesis 27:4). In this
connection, the age of Isaac should be considered. "Isaac was then in his 137th year,
at which age his half-brother Ishmael had died fourteen years previously."[7]
"My son ..." (Genesis 27:1). Leupold commented on the use of "my son," in this
passage and by Rebekah in Genesis 27:8, noting that they carry the particular
connotation of, "the son which each particularly loved."[8] The shameful and sinful
partiality of both Isaac for Esau and Rebekah for Jacob provide a horrible example of
the evil of such injustice on the part of parents. Papa's Boy and Mama's Boy! Millennial
hatreds between great races of people began right here in this senseless favoritism.
We remarked earlier that God expressed neither approval or disapproval of the
wickedness concentrated here in this chapter, where even Isaac sought to convey the
headship of the Chosen Race to Esau, the profane fornicator with two pagan wives,
who despised all the promises, and whose sensual and inconstant life rendered him
totally unfit for such responsibilities. Whatever view one takes of the consequences of
what the Lord related here, it is crystal clear that God disapproves of all sin, and that
"the wages of sin is death."
Note the sequel to these events:
(1) "Isaac suffered for his preference for Esau, which was not determined by the will of
God, but by his weak affection."[9] Also, his foolish and rebellious intention of by-
passing the will of God with reference to the Messianic line might be identified as the
reason that the Bible virtually closed any further reference to him in the Scriptures.
(2) Esau suffered for his despising the blessings of the birthright.
(3) Rebekah suffered for her part in the deception by being deprived of both her sons.
Jacob left home, and Rebekah, as far as the record says, never saw him anymore.
Esau was further estranged.
(4) Jacob suffered many years of hardship, deception, and injustice at the hands of
Laban. As a keeper of Laban's cattle his status was that of the lowest slaves known in
that day. Hosea made mention of this humiliation of Jacob in Hosea 12:12 as a
deterrent to the pride of Ephraim. See my comment at Hosea 12:12.
(5) The unity of Isaac's family was irrevocably shattered.

8. 1
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak
that he could no longer see, he called for Esau
his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here
I am," he answered.
1. Here we see a good reason to make final plans before you are so handicapped that
you can be taken advantage of. People who wait too long to take care of their final
affairs tempt others to manipulate them. Isaac felt he was old and would not live
that much longer, but the fact is he lived for another 40 years and more. Still, it
would have been wise to do what he is doing before he lost his sight. Putting things
off is a problem we all face, for it is human nature to wait until we have to do
something rather than just getting it done because it needs to be done.
2. Isaac lived in pre-glasses days, and his eyes were worn out and he was going
blind. Eye problems are among the most common for the aging. This was the
hardest loss for both my grandmother and my wife's grandmother, for they both
loved to read. Isaac had no such problem, for there was not much to read anyway.
He felt old and knew he was capable of dying any day, and so he decided to make
arrangements. In that day they did not worry about car and plane accidents and so
they just waited until they felt really old to make their will.
3. Barnes, “- Isaac Blessing His Sons
The life of Isaac falls into three periods. During the first seventy-five years he is
contemporary with his father. For sixty-one years more his son Jacob remains under the
paternal roof. The remaining forty-four years are passed in the retirement of old age. The
chapter before us narrates the last solemn acts of the middle period of his life.
Gen_27:1-4
Isaac was old. - Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he stood before Pharaoh, and
therefore thirty-nine when Jacob came down to Egypt at the age of one hundred and
thirty. When Joseph was born, therefore, Jacob was ninety-one, and he had sojourned
fourteen years in Padan-aram. Hence, Jacob’s flight to Laban took place when he was
seventy-seven, and therefore in the one hundred and thirty-sixth year of Isaac. “His eyes
were dim.” Weakness and even loss of sight is more frequent in Palestine than with us.
“His older son.” Isaac had not yet come to the conclusion that Jacob was heir of the
promise. The communication from the Lord to Rebekah concerning her yet unborn sons
in the form in which it is handed down to us merely determines that the older shall serve
the younger. This fact Isaac seems to have thought might not imply the transferrence of
the birthright; and if he was aware of the transaction between Esau and Jacob, he may
not have regarded it as valid. Hence, he makes arrangements for bestowing the paternal

9. benediction on Esau, his older son, whom he also loves. “I am old.” At the age of one
hundred and thirty-six, and with failing sight, he felt that life was uncertain. In the
calmness of determination he directs Esau to prepare savory meat, such as he loved, that
he may have his vigor renewed and his spirits revived for the solemn business of
bestowing that blessing, which he held to be fraught with more than ordinary benefits.
4. Clarke, “Isaac was old - It is conjectured, on good grounds, that Isaac was now
about one hundred and seventeen years of age, and Jacob about fifty-seven; though the
commonly received opinion makes Isaac one hundred and thirty-seven, and Jacob
seventy-seven; but see note on Gen_31:55, etc.
And his eyes were dim - This was probably the effect of that affliction, of what kind
we know not, under which Isaac now labored; and from which, as well as from the
affliction, he probably recovered, as it is certain he lived forty if not forty-three years
after this time, for he lived till the return of Jacob from Padan-aram; Gen_35:27-29.
5. Gill, “And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old,.... He is generally thought
to be about one hundred and thirty seven years of age at this time, which was just the age
of his brother Ishmael when he died, Gen_25:16; and might put him in mind of his own
death as near at hand; though if he was no older, he lived after this forty three years, for
he lived to be one hundred and eighty years old, Gen_35:28,
and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see; which circumstance is
mentioned, not only as a sign of old age, and as common to it, but for the sake of the
following history, and as accounting for it, that he should not know Jacob when he
blessed him; and this was so ordered in Providence, that by means of it the blessing
might be transferred to him, which otherwise in all probability would not have been
done, if Isaac had had his sight:
he called Esau his eldest son; who though he was married, and had been married
thirty seven years at this time, yet still lived in his father's house, or near him; for as he
was born when his father was sixty years of age, and he married when he himself was
forty, and his father must be an hundred, so if Isaac was now one hundred and thirty
seven, Esau must have been married thirty seven years; and though he had disobliged his
father by his marriage, yet he retained a natural affliction for him; nor had he turned him
out of doors, nor had he any thoughts of disinheriting him; but on the contrary intended
to bestow the blessing on him as the firstborn, for which reason he is here called "his
eldest son":
and said unto him, my son; owning the relation, expressing a tender affection for
him, and signifying he had something further to say unto him:
and he said unto him, behold, here am I; by which Esau intimated he was ready to
hear what his father had to say to him, and was willing to obey him. The Targum of
Jonathan says, this was the fourteenth of Nisan, when Isaac called Esau to him.
6. Henry, “Here is, I. Isaac's design to make his will, and to declare Esau his heir. The
promise of the Messiah and the land of Canaan was a great trust, first committed to
Abraham, inclusive and typical of spiritual and eternal blessings; this, by divine
direction, he transmitted to Isaac. Isaac, being now old, and not knowing, or not

10. understanding, or not duly considering, the divine oracle concerning his two sons, that
the elder should serve the younger, resolves to entail all the honour and power that were
wrapped up in the promise upon Esau his eldest son. In this he was governed more by
natural affection, and the common method of settlements, than he ought to have been, if
he know (as it is probable he did) the intimations God had given of his mind in this
matter. Note, We are very apt to take our measures rather from our own reason than
from divine revelation, and thereby often miss our way; we think the wise and learned,
the mighty and noble, should inherit the promise; but God sees not as man sees. See
1Sa_16:6, 1Sa_16:7.
II. The directions he gave to Esau, pursuant to this design. He calls him to him,
Gen_27:1. For Esau, though married, had not yet removed; and, though he had greatly
grieved his parents by his marriage, yet they had not expelled him, but it seems were
pretty well reconciled to him, and made the best of it. Note, Parents that are justly
offended at their children yet must not be implacable towards them.
7. Jamison, “Gen_27:1-27. Infirmity of Isaac.
when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim — He was in his hundred thirty-
seventh year; and apprehending death to be near, Isaac prepared to make his last will -
an act of the gravest importance, especially as it included the conveyance through a
prophetic spirit of the patriarchal blessing.
8. K&D 1-4, “When Isaac had grown old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could no
longer see (‫ּת‬‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ֵ‫מ‬ from seeing, with the neg. ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ as in Gen_16:2, etc.), he wished, in the
consciousness of approaching death, to give his blessing to his elder son. Isaac was then in his
137th year, at which age his half-brother Ishmael had died fourteen years before;
(Note: Cf. Lightfoot, opp. 1, p. 19. This correct estimate of Luther's is based upon the
following calculation: - When Joseph was introduced to Pharaoh he was thirty years old
(Gen_41:46), and when Jacob went into Egypt, thirty-nine, as the seven years of abundance
and two of famine had then passed by (Gen_45:6). But Jacob was at that time 130 years old
(Gen_47:9). Consequently Joseph was born before Jacob was ninety-one; and as his birth
took place in the fourteenth year of Jacob's sojourn in Mesopotamia (cf. Gen_30:25, and
Gen_29:18, Gen_29:21, and Gen_29:27), Jacob's flight to Laban occurred in the seventy-
seventh year of his own life, and the 137th of Isaac's.)
and this, with the increasing infirmities of age, may have suggested the thought of death,
though he did not die till forty-three years afterwards (Gen_35:28). Without regard to the words
which were spoken by God with reference to the children before their birth, and without taking
any notice of Esau's frivolous barter of his birthright and his ungodly connection with Canaanites,
Isaac maintained his preference for Esau, and directed him therefore to take his things (‫ים‬ ִ‫ל‬ ֵⅴ,
hunting gear), his quiver and bow, to hunt game and prepare a savoury dish, that he might eat,

11. and his soul might bless him. As his preference for Esau was fostered and strengthened by, if it
did not spring from, his liking for game (Gen_25:28), so now he wished to raise his spirits for
imparting the blessing by a dish of venison prepared to his taste. In this the infirmity of his flesh is
evident. At the same time, it was not merely because of his partiality for Esau, but unquestionably
on account of the natural rights of the first-born, that he wished to impart the blessing to him, just
as the desire to do this before his death arose from the consciousness of his patriarchal call.
9. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 1. Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim.] Old age is of itself
a disease, and the sink of all diseases. This Solomon sweetly sets forth [Ecclesiastes
12:1-7] by a continued allegory, Ubi quot lumina imo flumina orationis exerit saith
one. In general, he calls it "the evil day, the years that have no pleasure in them." In
particular, the senses all fail; the hands tremble; the legs buckle; the teeth cannot do
their office, as being either lost or loosened; "the silver cord," that is, the marrow of
their backs, is consumed; "the golden ewer," that is, the brainpan, broke; "the
pitcher at the well," that is, the veins at the liver; "the wheel at the cistern," that is,
the head, which draws the power of life from the heart; all these worn weak, and
wanting to their office. So that sleep faileth; "desire faileth"; (a) neither spring nor
summer (signified by the almond tree and grasshopper) shall affect with pleasure;
"the daughters of music shall be brought low," as they were in old Barzillai; "the
sun, moon, and stars are darkened," for any delight they take in their sweet shine;
yea, "the clouds return after rain"; a continual succession of miseries, like April
weather, as one shower is unburdened, another is brewed, and the sky is still overcast
with clouds. Lo, such is old age. And is this a fit present for God? wilt thou give him
the dregs, the bottom, the very last sands, thy dotage, which thyself and friends are
weary of? "Offer it now to thy prince, will he be pleased with thee"? [Malachi 1:8]
The Circassians, a kind of mongrel Christians, as they baptize not their children till
the eighth year, so they enter not into the Church, the gentlemen specially, till the
sixtieth year, but hear divine service standing outside the temple; that is to any, till
through age they grow unable to continue their rapines and robberies, to which sin
that nation is exceedingly addicted: so dividing their time between sin and devotion;
dedicating their youth to rapine, and their old age to repentance. (b) But God will
not be so put off. He is "a great King," and stands upon his seniority. [Malachi 1:14]
In the Levitical law, there were three sorts of firstfruits:
1. Of the ears of corn, offered about the Passover;
2. Of the loaves, offered about Pentecost;
3. About the end of the year in Autumn.
Now of the first two God had a part, but not of the last: to teach us, that he will
accept of the services of our youth or middle-age: but for old age, vix aut ne vix
quidem . Besides Abraham in the Old Testament, and Nicodemus in the New, I

12. know not whether we read of any old man ever brought home to God.
10. HAWKER, "This Chapter contains the history of Jacob’s craftily obtaining the
blessing of the birth-right from his father Isaac, and thereby supplanting his brother
Esau: a circumstance, which unless read with a spiritual apprehension, will be to us, as it
is always to the carnal, a stumblingstone and rock of offence. In this Chapter the Holy
Ghost also relates the sad conduct of the Patriarch Isaac, who, notwithstanding the open
revelation God made to him before the birth of his two sons, Jacob and Esau, that the
elder should serve the younger, in direct defiance of this will of God, sought to entail the
covenant blessing on Esau. He gives directions to Esau! how to prepare for him venison,
in order to receive this blessing; Rebekah contrives by stratagem to obtain it for her son
Jacob: the success of Jacob, and the disappointment of Esau, are both related in this
Chapter. Esau determines to be revenged of Jacob: and Rebekah in order to prevent it,
contrives to send Jacob to her brother’s house by way of refuge.
Gen_27:1
I would earnestly beseech the Reader, before he enters upon the perusal of this chapter,
to consult very carefully the following scriptures: First, Gen_25:23. Here you see, that
the appointment of Jacob to the birth-right was of the Lord. Also do not forget this one
thing, that He, who thought proper to have this blessing given to Jacob, by a transfer,
might, had he pleased, have as easily given it by birth-right. Next consult Gen_25:32-34,
and compare with Heb_12:16-17. The construction which the Holy Ghost hath put on
Esau’s conduct, clearly proves what that conduct was. He poured contempt upon the
promised blessing of redemption; and how shall the soul that rejects that mercy, be
made the rich partaker of it! Thirdly, consult Mal_1:2-3. And if these scriptures need any
farther comment, let the Reader turn to Rom_9:7 to the end; and these are enough,
under the divine teaching, to explain this whole transaction.
11. CALVIN, "And it came to pass that when Isaac was old. In this chapter Moses
prosecutes, in many words, a history which does not appear to be of great utility. It
amounts to this; Esau having gone out, at his father’s command, to hunt; Jacob, in his
brother’s clothing, was, by the artifice of his mother, induced to obtain by stealth the
blessing due by the right of nature to the firstborn. It seems even like child’s play to
present to his father a kid instead of venison, to feign himself to be hairy by putting on
skins, and, under the name of his brother, to get the blessing by a lie. But in order to
learn that Moses does not in vain pause over this narrative as a most serious matter, we
must first observe, that when Jacob received the blessing from his father, this token
confirmed to him the oracle by which the Lord had preferred him to his brother. For the
benediction here spoken of was not a mere prayer but a legitimate sanction, divinely
interposed, to make manifest the grace of election. God had promised to the holy fathers
that he would be a God to their seed for ever. They, when at the point of death, in order
that the succession might be secured to their posterity, put them in possession, as if they
would deliver, from hand to hand, the favor which they had received from God. So
Abraham, in blessing his son Isaac, constituted him the heir of spiritual life with a
solemn rite. With the same design, Isaac now, being worn down with age, imagines
himself to be shortly about to depart this life, and wishes to bless his firstborn son, in
order that the everlasting covenant of God may remain in his own family. The Patriarchs
did not take this upon themselves rashly, or on their own private account, but were

13. public and divinely ordained witnesses. To this point belongs the declaration of the
Apostle, “the less is blessed of the better.” (Hebrews 7:7.) For even the faithful were
accustomed to bless each other by mutual offices of charity; but the Lord enjoined this
peculiar service upon the patriarchs, that they should transmit, as a deposit to posterity,
the covenant which he had struck with them, and which they kept during the whole
course of their life. The same command was afterwards given to the priests, as appears in
Numbers 6:24, and other similar places. Therefore Isaac, in blessing his son, sustained
another character than that of a father or of a private person, for he was a prophet and an
interpreter of God, who constituted his son an heir of the same grace which he had
received. Hence appears what I have already said, that Moses, in treating of this matter,
is not without reason thus prolix. But let us weigh each of the circumstances of the case
in its proper order; of which this is the first, that God transferred the blessing of Esau to
Jacob, by a mistake on the part of the father; whose eyes, Moses tells us, were dim. The
vision also of Jacob was dull when he blessed his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh;
yet his want of sight did not prevent him from cautiously placing his hands in a
transverse direction. But God suffered Isaac to be deceived, in order to show that it was
not by the will of man that Jacob was raised, contrary to the course of nature, to the right
and honor of primogeniture.
12. COKE, “Genesis 27:1. Was old, &c.— Bishop Kidder, from several passages of the history
laid together, proves, that Isaac was now one hundred and thirty-six or one hundred and thirty-
seven years old; when his faculties being much impaired, and apprehending the approach of death,
(though he lived forty years after,) he determined to "impart the solemn Abrahamic benediction" to
his eldest son Esau, in which channel most probably he conceived that it was to pass, though his
wife Rebekah knew to the contrary. Some have imagined, that as Isaac lived so many years
afterwards, he was hastened to this act of blessing his son by an indisposition which threatened his
death, and rendered more agreeable to his sickly appetite the favourite food procured by his son. As
there can be no question, that the imparting this benediction was a high religious act, and evidently
prophetic, (as in the case of Jacob also, see ch. Genesis 49:1.) it is very reasonable to conclude,
that something more than mere eating was intended; some religious ceremony, sacrifice, or feast;
an opinion, for which, in the course of the chapter, we may probably find some countenance.
13. BI, "Isaac was old and his eyes were dim
Isaac in the near prospect of death
I. HE HAS WARNINGS OF HIS APPROACHING END.
1. His advanced age.
2. Signs of weakness and decay.
II. HE SETS IN ORDER HIS WORLDLY AFFAIRS.
1. Duties prompted by the social affections.
2. Duties regarding the settlement of inheritance and property. (T. H.Leale.)
Isaac’s preparation for death
1. His longing for the performance of Esau’s filial kindness as for a last time.
(1) Esau was his favourite son; not on account of any similarity between them,

14. but just because they were dissimilar; the repose and contemplativeness and
inactivity of Isaac found a contrast in which it reposed in the energy and even the
restlessness of his firstborn.
(2) It was natural to yearn for the feast of his son’s affection for the last time, for
there is something peculiarly impressive in whatever is done for the last time.
2. Isaac prepared for death by making his last testamentary dispositions. They were
made, though apparently premature—
(1) Partly because of the frailty of life and the uncertainty whether there may be
any to-morrow for that which is put off to-day;
(2) Partly perhaps because he desired to have all earthly thoughts done with and
put away. When he came to die there would be no anxieties about the disposition
of property, to harass him. For it is good to have all such things done with before
that hour comes. Is there not something incongruous in the presence of a lawyer
in the death room, agitating the last hours? The first portion of our lives is spent
in learning the use of our senses and faculties, ascertaining where we are, and
what. The second in using those powers, and acting in the given sphere, the
motto being, “Work, the night cometh.” A third portion, between active life and
the grave, like the twilight between day and night (not light enough for working,
nor yet quite dark), nature seems to accord for unworldliness and meditation. It
is striking, doubtless, to see an old man, hale and vigorous to the last, dying at his
work, like a warrior in armour. But natural feeling makes us wish perhaps that an
interval might be given; a season for the statesman, such as that which Samuel
had on laying aside the cares of office in the schools of the prophets, such as
Simeon and Anna had for a life of devotion in the temple, such as the labourer
has when, his long day’s work done, he finds an asylum in the almshouse, such as
our Church desires when she prays against sudden death; a season of interval in
which to watch, and meditate, and wait. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
The blind father
Isaac.
1. Now very aged. One hundred and thirty-six years old. Feeble. Ought to have been
specially reverenced, both as a father and because so aged. Reverence due to old age.
What more beautiful than old age (Pro_15:31)? See the Word of God concerning old
age (Lev_19:32; 2Ch_36:17; Pro_20:29).
2. Helpless. Forced to sit in the house while his sons were actively employed.
Dependent on the kind offices of others.
3. Blind. And therefore should have been specially reverenced, and treated with most
respectful tenderness,
4. Felt his end approaching (Gen_27:4). Should therefore have been treated with the
greater consideration.
5. About to impart the covenant blessing. A most solemn act. To be given, and
received, in the fear of God.
6. Would signalize it with a feast. The last he might have; and his own beloved Esau
should prepare it. (J. C. Gray.)

15. The day of death unknown
I have read a parable of a man shut up in a fortress under sentence of perpetual
imprisonment, and obliged to draw water from a reservoir which he may not see, but
into which no fresh stream is ever to be poured. How much it contains he cannot tell. He
knows that the quantity is not great; it may be extremely small. He has already drawn
out a considerable supply during his long imprisonment. The diminution increases daily,
and how, it is asked, would he feel each time of drawing water and each time of drinking
it? Not as if he had a perennial stream to go to-”I have a reservoir; I may be at ease.” No:
“I had water yesterday, I have it to-day; but my having it yesterday and my having it to-
day is the very cause that I shall not have it on some day that is approaching.” Life is a
fortress; man is the prisoner within the gates. He draws his supply from a fountain fed by
invisible pipes, but the reservoir is being exhausted. We had life yesterday, we have it
today, the probability—the certainty—is that we shall not have it on some day that is to
come. (R. A.Wilmot.)
Isaac, the organ of Divine blessing
It is a strange and, in some respects, perplexing spectacle that is here presented to us—
the organ of the Divine blessing represented by a blind old man, laid on a “couch of
skins,” stimulated by meat and wine, and trying to cheat God by bestowing the family
blessing on the son of his own choice to the exclusion of the Divinely-appointed heir. Out
of such beginnings had God to educate a people worthy of Himself, and through such
hazards had He to guide the spiritual blessing He designed to convey to us all. Isaac laid
a net for his own feet. By his unrighteous and timorous haste he secured the defeat of his
own long-cherished scheme. It was his hasting to bless Esau which drove Rebekah to
checkmate him by winning the blessing for her favourite. The shock which Isaac felt
when Esau came in and the fraud was discovered is easily understood. The mortification
of the old man must have been extreme when he found that he had so completely taken
himself in. He was reclining in the satisfied reflection that for once he had overreached
his astute Rebekah and her astute son, and in the comfortable feeling that, at last, he had
accomplished his one remaining desire, when he learns from the exceeding bitter cry of
Esau that he has himself been duped. It was enough to rouse the anger of the mildest and
godliest of men, but Isaac does not storm and protest—“he trembles exceedingly.” He
recognises, by a spiritual insight quite unknown to Esau, that this is God’s hand, and
deliberately confirms, with his eyes open, what he had done in blindness: “I have blessed
him: Yea, and he shall be blessed.” Had he wished to deny the validity of the blessing, he
had ground enough for doing so. He had not really given it; it had been stolen from him.
An act must be judged by its intention, and he had been far from intending to bless
Jacob. Was he to consider himself bound by what he had done under a
misapprehension? He had given a Messing to one person under the impression that he
was a different person; must not the blessing go to him for whom it was designed? But
Isaac unhesitatingly yielded. This clear recognition of God’s hand in the matter, and
quick submission to Him, reveals a habit of reflection, and a spiritual thoughtfulness,
which are the good qualities in Isaac’s otherwise unsatisfactory character. Before he
finished his answer to Esau, he felt he was a poor feeble creature in the hand of a true
and just God, who had used even his infirmity and sin to forward righteous and gracious
ends. It was his sudden recognition of the frightful way in which he had been tampering

16. with God’s will, and of the grace with which God had prevented him from accomplishing
a wrong destination of the inheritance, that made Isaac tremble very exceedingly. In this
humble acceptance of the disappointment of his life’s love and hope, Isaac shows us the
manner in which we ought to bear the consequences of our wrong-doing. The
punishment of our sin often comes through the persons with whom we have to do,
unintentionally on their part, and yet we are tempted to hate them because they pain and
punish us, father, mother, wife, child, or whoever else. Isaac and Esau were alike
disappointed. Esau only saw the supplanter, and vowed to be revenged. Isaac saw God in
the matter, and trembled. So when Shimei cursed David, and his loyal retainers would
have cut off his head for so doing, David said: “Let him alone, and let him curse; it may
be that the Lord hath bidden him.” We can bear the pain inflicted on us by men when we
see that they are merely the instruments of a Divine chastisement. The persons who
thwart us and make our life bitter, the persons who stand between us and our dearest
hopes, the persons whom we are most disposed to speak angrily and bitterly to, are often
thorns planted in our path by God to keep us on the right way. (M. Dods, D. D.)
2
Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't
know the day of my death.
1. Isaac was the man of round numbers. He was married at 40, had a son at 60, and
died at 180.He was just like all of us, for none know the day of their death. Some feel
they have many years ahead, and they die the next day. Others, like Isaac, feel their
time is short, and then go on for another half of a lifetime. The unknown, however,
does motivate us to make plans, as it did Isaac.
2.In this chapter we see the results in part of a divided family. Isaac is about 137 years
old and acts like he will die very soon. He will live to be 180 (35:28). Some have
suggested that his impatience to give Esau the blessing suggests a carnal, premature
move. Isaac's getting old. The typical calculation of his age at this point is 137. Isaac's
brother Ishmael had died at that same age. So Isaac's thinking he's pretty close to death
himself
3. JOHN TRAPP, “Ver. 2. I am old, I know not the day of my death.] No more

17. doth any, though never so young. There be as many young skulls as old, in
Golgotha. But, young men, we say, may die; old men must die. To the old, death
is pro ianuis; to the young, in insidiis. Senex, quasi semi-nex. Old men have
pedem in cymba Charontis, one foot in the grave already. Our decrepit age both
expects death, and solicits it: it goes grovelling, as groaning for the grave.
Whence Terence (a) calls an old man Silicernium; and the Greeks γηροντα,
πασα το εις γην οραν, of looking toward the ground, whither he is tending; or, as
others will have it, of loving earth and earthly things; which old folk greedily grasp
at, because they fear they shall not have to suffice them while alive, and to bring
them honestly home, as they say, when they are dead; as Plutarch gives the
reason,
4. Clarke, “I know not the day of my death - From his present weakness he had
reason to suppose that his death could not be at any great distance, and therefore would
leave no act undone which he believed it his duty to perform. He who lives not in
reference to eternity, lives not at all.
5. Gill, “And he said, behold, now I am old,.... See Gill on Gen_27:1,
I know not the day of my death; how soon it will be; everyone knows he must die,
but the day and hour he knows not, neither young nor old; and though young men may
promise themselves many days and years, an old man cannot, but must or should live in
the constant expectation of death.
6. HAWKER, “Dying patriarchs always called their households round them. Gen_49:1;
Deu_33:1.
7. Calvin, “2.Behold, now I am old, I know not the day of my death. There is not
the least doubt that Isaac implored daily blessings on his sons all his life: this,
therefore, appears to have been an extraordinary kind of benediction. Moreover,
the declaration that he knew not the day of his death, is as much as if he had
said, that death was every moment pressing so closely upon him, a decrepit and
failing man, that he dared not promise himself any longer life. Just as a woman
with child when the time of parturition draws near, might say, that she had now

18. no day certain. Every one, even in the full vigor of age, carries with him a
thousand deaths. Death claims as its own the foetus in the mother’s womb, and
accompanies it through every stage of life. But as it urges the old more closely,
so they ought to place it more constantly before their eyes, and should pass as
pilgrims through the world, or as those who have already one foot in the grave. In
short, Isaac, as one near death, wishes to leave the Church surviving him in the
person of his son.
3
ow then, get your weapons--your quiver and
bow--and go out to the open country to hunt
some wild game for me.
1. Isaac was a real lover of wild game, and he was proud of his boy who could go out
and hunt it. He was a man’s man, and not like his other son Jacob who was a
mother’s boy. He appeals to men, and he was his father's favorite. It is strange to see
that Abraham favored Ishmael, and Isaac favors Esau. But God 's favor went to the
other sons, and here God favored Jacob. Favoritism is folly because choosing your
favorite child may be going against the choice of God. Leave the choice to God and
let him have his way with your children rather than try to manipulate things to give
one an advantage over the others.
2. Pink is drawing a radical conclusion about the hunter when he writes, "Only two
men in Scripture are specifically termed "hunters,’’ namely, imrod and Esau, and
they have much in common. The fact that Esau is thus linked together with imrod,
the rebel, reveals his true character." Being hunters does not link these two together
at all. This type of thinking puts Satan and our Savior together in that both are
connected with the lion. There is no basis for judging Esau as bad because of his
hunting skills. He is bad because of acts of evil and not because of his love of
hunting.

19. Why was it that Isaac desired to partake of venison from Esau before blessing him? Does
not Genesis 25:28 answer the question—"And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his
venison." In view of this statement it would seem, then, that Isaac desired to enkindle or
intensify his affections for Esau, so that he might bless him with all his heart. But surely
Isaac’s eyes were "dim" spiritually as well as physically. Let us not forget that what we
read here at the beginning of Genesis 27 follows immediately after the record of Esau
marrying the two heathen wives. Thus it will be seen that Isaac’s wrong in being partial
to Esau was greatly aggravated by treating so lightly his son’s affront to the glory of
Jehovah—and all for a meal of venison! Alas, what a terrible thing is the flesh with its
"affections and lusts" even in a believer, yea, more terrible than in an unbeliever. But
worst of all, Isaac’s partiality toward Esau was a plain disregard of God’s word to
Rebekah that Esau should "serve" Jacob (Gen. 25:23). By comparing Hebrews 11:20 with
Romans 10:7 it is certain that Isaac had himself" heard" this.
3. Clarke, “Thy weapons - The original word ‫כלי‬ keley signifies vessels and
instruments of any kind; and is probably used here for a hunting spear, javelin, sword,
etc.
Quiver - ‫תלי‬ teli, from ‫תלה‬ talah, to hang or suspend. Had not the Septuagint
translated the word φαρετραν, and the Vulgate pharetram, a quiver, I should rather have
supposed some kind of shield was meant; but either can be suspended on the arm or
from the shoulder. Some think a sword is meant; and because the original signifies to
hang or suspend, hence they think is derived our word hanger, so called because it is
generally worn in a pendent posture; but the word hanger did not exist in our language
previously to the Crusades, and we have evidently derived it from the Persian khanjar, a
poniard or dagger, the use of which, not only in battles, but in private assassinations, was
well known.
4. Gill, “Now therefore, take, I pray thee, thy weapons,.... Or "thy vessels", or
"instruments" (n), his instruments of hunting: as
thy quiver and thy bow; the former is the vessel or instrument, in which arrows were
put and carried, and has its name in the Hebrew language from its being hung at the
girdle, though another word is more commonly used for a quiver; and Onkelos and
Jarchi interpret this of a sword; and which is not disapproved of by Aben Ezra and Ben
Melech, who explain it either a quiver or a sword; and the latter was as necessary for
hunting as the former, see Gen_27:40; and such a sword may be meant, as Mr. Fuller
observes (o), which we call a "hanger" (i.e. a small sword often worn by seamen); and of
the bow being an instrument of hunting, not anything need be said:
and go out to the field, and take me some venison; this does not necessarily
intend what we commonly call so, but anything hunted in the field, as hares, wild goats,
&c. and indeed the latter seems to be what Isaac loved, by the preparation Rebekah

20. afterwards made.
5. Strahan, "AFFECTION. Some minds are attracted to one another by
affinity, others by contrast. Isaac loved Esau, who was his
opposite ; and Rebekah loved Jacob, who was her image (25 28 ).
In spirit and manner of life Esau presented the most striking
unlikeness to his father. The one was at home in strenuous
action, the other in quiet meditation. Isaac was not more
gentle, placid, retiring than Esau was fierce, bold, intrepid.
Yet Isaac was irresistibly drawn to the hot, impulsive youth,
seeing in him all that he missed in himself. He listened with
delight to the huntsman s tales of adventure. The breathless
pursuit, the hazardous encounter, the hairbreadth escapes stirred
his imagination. He felt that his son s noble stature and restless
energy were prophetic of future greatness."
4
Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and
bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my
blessing before I die."
1. Esau could not only hunt it, he could cook it, and so was an all around man who
could do it all. That is why he was the favorite of Isaac. Isaac is greatly condemned
by many because of his favoritism toward Esau. He is considered to be defying
God's revealed will by doing so because back in Gen. 25:23 God revealed to
Rebekah that the older son would serve the younger. The problem is that we do not
know if Isaac knew of this message from God. You would assume that his wife
would tell him what God said to her, but we do not know if she did. We cannot
judge Isaac based on an assumption. Many do, however, and a common opinion
goes like this from an author who judges Isaac, "Isaac knew what God had said, but
here he is in a sneaky and secretive fashion trying to give the birthright to Esau. His
personal choice was Esau, but the previous choice, which was God’s choice, was
Jacob. What Isaac is doing is an act of disobedience."
2. Many will say he was sinning by trying to give Esau the blessing, for he was trying
to go around the will of God and get his will fulfilled instead. This is a radical
charge against this man of God's choosing, and God's Word does not support the

21. charge. All we read in the the book of Hebrews is this in 11:20, "By faith Isaac
blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future." Isaac is credited by God to have
acted in faith, and he blessed both of his sons and not just Jacob. He is not
condemned by God anywhere, and I see no reason why men should be allowed to
override God and make him sinful where God does not. So the man liked to eat! Let
him who is without sin throw the first stone. He was no rebel here trying to defy
God, but just showing love to a son with whom he had a special relationship. He
may have been on the wrong track, but God used his wife to get him to go the way
he should to do God's will. He was not fighting it, but just not as aware as his wife of
what God's will was. So if God is for him, who can be against him? I see preachers
finding sin all too frenquently in the lives of God's chosen when there is no basis for
it. There is all kinds of valid sin in the saints to use for messages, but it is not being
honest to find it where God does not.
3. Clarke, “Savory meat - ‫מטעמים‬ matammim, from ‫טעם‬ taam, to taste or relish; how
dressed we know not, but its name declares its nature.
That I may eat - The blessing which Isaac was to confer on his son was a species of
Divine right, and must be communicated with appropriate ceremonies. As eating and
drinking were used among the Asiatics on almost all religious occasions, and especially
in making and confirming covenants, it is reasonable to suppose that something of this
kind was essentially necessary on this occasion, and that Isaac could not convey the right
till he had eaten of the meat provided for the purpose by him who was to receive the
blessing. As Isaac was now old, and in a feeble and languishing condition, it was
necessary that the flesh used on this occasion should be prepared so as to invite the
appetite, that a sufficiency of it might be taken to revive and recruit his drooping
strength, that he might be the better able to go through the whole of this ceremony.
This seems to be the sole reason why savory meat is so particularly mentioned in the
text. When we consider, 1. That no covenant was deemed binding unless the parties had
eaten together; 2. That to convey this blessing some rite of this kind was necessary; and,
3. That Isaac’s strength was now greatly exhausted, insomuch that he supposed himself
to be dying; we shall at once see why meat was required on this occasion, and why that
meat was to be prepared so as to deserve the epithet of savory.
As I believe this to be the true sense of the place, I do not trouble my readers with
interpretations which I suppose to be either exceptionable or false.
4. Gill, “And make me savoury meat, such as I love,.... For, though he had lost his
sight, he had not lost his taste, nor his appetite for savoury food:
and bring it to me, that I may eat; this, was enjoined to make trial of his filial
affection and duty to him, before he blessed him:
that my soul may bless thee before I die; not only that he might do it with
cheerfulness and vivacity, having eaten a comfortable meal, and being refreshed with it,

22. but that having had proof of his son's duty and affection to him, he might confer the
blessing on him heartily: this blessing was not an ordinary and common one, but what
parents used to bestow upon their children at the time of their death, or a little before it;
and good men oftentimes did this under a spirit of prophecy, declaring what would be
the case and circumstances of their children in time to come; and particularly the
principal part of the blessing of Isaac, which Abraham had entailed upon him by divine
direction, and he thought to have entailed on Esau his firstborn, was the promise of the
descent of the Messiah from him and his seed, and of the possession of the land of
Canaan by them: and this shows that Rebekah had not made known the oracle to Isaac,
that the "elder should serve the younger", Gen_25:23, or, if she had, he had forgot, or did
not understand it, and might think it respected not the persons of his sons, but their
posterity; or however, from a natural affection for Esau his firstborn, and that the
blessing and inheritance might go in the common channel, he was desirous he should
have it; and he might also be ignorant of Esau's having sold his birthright to Jacob, or
that he made no account of it.
5. Jamison, “make ... savory meat — perhaps to revive and strengthen him for the
duty; or rather, “as eating and drinking” were used on all religious occasions, he could
not convey the right, till he had eaten of the meat provided for the purpose by him who
was to receive the blessing [Adam Clarke] (compare Gen_18:7).
that my soul may bless thee — It is difficult to imagine him ignorant of the divine
purpose (compare Gen_25:23). But natural affection, prevailing through age and
infirmity, prompted him to entail the honors and powers of the birthright on his elder
son; and perhaps he was not aware of what Esau had done (Gen_25:34).
6. Calvin, “That my soul may bless thee. Wonderfully was the faith of the holy
man blended with a foolish and inconsiderate carnal affection. The general
principle of faith flourishes in his mind, when, in blessing his son, he consigns to
him, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the right of the inheritance which had
been divinely promised to himself. Meanwhile, he is blindly carried away by the
love of his firstborn son, to prefer him to the other; and in this way he contends
against the oracle of God. For he could not be ignorant of that which God had
pronounced before the children were born. If any one would excuse him,
inasmuch as he had received no command from God to change the accustomed
order of nature by preferring the younger to the elder; this is easily refuted:
because when he knew that the firstborn was rejected, he still persisted in his
excessive attachment. Again, in neglecting to inquire respecting his duty, when

23. he had been informed of the heavenly oracle by his wife, his indolence was by no
means excusable. For he was not altogether ignorant of his calling; therefore, his
obstinate attachment to his son was a kind of blindness, which proved a greater
obstacle to him than the external dimness of his eyes. Yet this fault, although
deserving of reprehension, did not deprive the holy man of the right of
pronouncing a blessing; but plenary authority remained with him, and the force
and efficacy of his testimony stood entire, just as if God himself had spoken from
heaven; to which subject I shall soon again allude.
7. The Lord's plan was that Jacob would get the birthright and the blessing. "But in
spite of all this - in spite of God's instruction concerning Jacob before he was born,
in spite of the plainly obvious superiority of Jacob's character and spiritual
discernment and convictions over those of Esau, in spite of Jacob's further
legalization of his claim to the patriarchal blessing through his purchase of the
birthright from Esau, confirmed by Esau's solemn oath, in spite of Esau's obvious
indifference to his spiritual heritage and to the will of God - in spite of all this, Isaac
nevertheless determined that he was going to give the blessing to Esau." (Morris)
Isaac is dealing dirty. He's made a plan to give the blessing to Esau in secret. "If
Esau had sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, Isaac was about to give away the
blessing for a mess of venison." (C.H.M.)
8. Chris Robinson
Now let me close with two inferences from our text. First, we have noted that Isaac
should have detested his son Esau, rather than doting on him. Esau, after all, made the
precious Lifeline of no effect. Does this mean that you should detest your son or daughter
—whether they be child or adult—if they reject the gospel today? By no means!
Especially if they have been baptized! You see, Isaac knew that Jacob was to be preferred
over Esau, because God had told Him so. Isaac knew that Jacob was on the Lifeline to
Christ, whereas Esau was a dead line. Isaac’s doting on Esau was in direct opposition to
God’s revealed will.
9. BILL BALDWIN
Isaac is also being devious, like Rebekah and Jacob
1. Normal situation: A man is ready to die. He calls all his sons before him
to bless them all, with special blessing going to the firstborn.
2. But Isaac intends to give the whole blessing to Esau and leave none for
Jacob.
3. So he does this on the sly, calling only Esau into his presence.
4. Thus, by deceitfulness, he sets up his own and Esau's downfall later in
the chapter. (How could Jacob have pulled off his stunt if Esau had been standing right

24. next to him?)
7. And Isaac is Defying God
1. God had said, "The older will serve the younger."
2. God had chosen Jacob, that the blessing of Abraham should come to
him.
3. How foolish is Isaac, to think he can thwart the plan of God?
4. How wicked is he to want to?
5. Oh children of God! It is good for us that Isaac should seem so foolish
and sinful!
1. See now the folly and sin of our own flesh when we would thwart
the plan of God.
2. How often are we frustrated by what his Providence brings!
3. How often do we treat God with suspicion as though he does not
desire our good?
4. How we fear his discipline and the trials he sends and would escape
them if we could!
5. How foolish! For God is powerful.
6. How wrong! For God is righteous.
10. Isaac was right in what he wanted to do, but wrong in both the timing and the
person. He wanted to give it to his favorite. We all need to exercise spiritual authority
and blessing, but we need to be careful how we do it. Doing the right thing the right way:
Example David was right in wanting to take the Ark safely and permanently housed in
Jerusalem, but wrong about putting it in a cart. Moses was right in wanting to help the
children of Israel but wrong in killing the Egyptian. Saul was right in wanting to consult
God about the upcoming battle on Mt. Gilboa but wrong in trying to get the answer
through a spirit channeler.
Isaac loved Esau, not because he was a Holy man, not because he pursued the pilgrim
way of God. Esau thought he was great hunter, provider and venison cook. It was carnal,
sensual, affection that motivated, and now controlled him. This is what motivated him to
bless the wrong man.(see verse 4). He thought spiritual blessing could be imparted in the
energy of the flesh. If you take a quick look at the chapter, "savoury meat " is mentioned
6 times, venison 7 times, and eating 8 times. Here is a man controlled by appitite. Over
20 references to carnal desires.
What is the Blessing?
Two weeks ago, we talked about what the birthright was - the right of the firstborn to take
precedence over his brothers - taking the authority of the father when he dies. The one
who had the birthright became the head of the house, and priest of the family. It also
entitled him to a double-portion of the estate at the father's death.

25. But what is the blessing? The blessing is a verbal conveying of God's covenant promises.
Whereas the birthright imparted material benefits from the father, the blessing imparted
spiritual benefits from the Lord.
Now I know of nothing mystical or magical about the blessing. It is ultimately up to the
Lord to accomplish it. In trying to give the blessing to Esau instead of Jacob, Isaac is
ignorantly trying to force God's hand. Many people today think that they can force the
hand of God to do as they will instead of as He wills. In doing so, they set themselves
above God - claiming to have a better plan, a better method, a better idea of what's going
on
5
ow Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his
son Esau. When Esau left for the open country
to hunt game and bring it back,
Eavesdropping had changed the course of history, for what she overheard led
her to interfere with what otherwise would have happened. Eavesdropping leads
to plotting.
1. Barnes, “Gen_27:5-13
Rebekah forms a plan for diverting the blessing from Esau to Jacob. She was within
hearing when the infirm Isaac gave his orders, and communicates the news to Jacob.
Rebekah has no scruples about primogeniture. Her feelings prompt her to take
measures, without waiting to consider whether they are justifiable or not, for securing to
Jacob that blessing which she has settled in her own mind to be destined for him. She
thinks it necessary to interfere that this end may not fail of being accomplished. Jacob
views the matter more coolly, and starts a difficulty. He may be found out to be a
deceiver, and bring his father’s curse upon him. Rebekah, anticipating no such issue;
undertakes to bear the curse that she conceived would never come. Only let him obey.
2. Clarke, “And Rebekah heard - And was determined, if possible, to frustrate the
design of Isaac, and procure the blessing for her favorite son. Some pretend that she
received a Divine inspiration to the purpose; but if she had she needed not to have
recourse to deceit, to help forward the accomplishment. Isaac, on being informed, would
have had too much piety not to prefer the will of his Maker to his own partiality for his
eldest son; but Rebekah had nothing of the kind to plead, and therefore had recourse to
the most exceptionable means to accomplish her ends.

26. 3. Gill, “And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son,.... She might
hear Isaac call to him by one means or another, that he had sent for him, or might see
him go into his father's tent, and might stand at the door of it and listen to hear what he
said to him; though the Targum of Jonathan says, she heard by the Holy Spirit:
and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it; as his father
directed and enjoined him; and thus it was ordered by divine Providence, that there
might be time and opportunity for Jacob to get the blessing before his broker
4. HAWKER, “Genesis 27:5-10
There is not a passage in scripture which needs more the enlightening influences of the
Holy Ghost to guide into all truth, than these verses. Various have been the opinions of
Commentators upon the transaction here recorded. Almost all, and indeed everyone
which I have seen, condemn the conduct of Jacob and his mother, passing by at the same
time all reproof upon Isaac. I confess it appears to me that Isaac was most faulty of the
whole. I venture to propose one or two thoughts upon the subject, and shall then leave
the matter to the Reader himself to form his own judgment, praying that God the Holy
Ghost may give him a right judgment in this, as well as all things.
The Lord had informed Rebecca, when she was with child, that she had twins in her
womb, and that two manner of people should be separated from her bowels; and that the
elder should serve the younger. Gen_25:21-23. Thus informed of God himself, how could
Isaac presume to counteract, or attempt to alter, the appointment of God? The method
Rebecca took to defeat the purpose of her blind husband was, no doubt, a deception; but
it seems to have very clearly originated from the sense she had of what God had said.
Perhaps it might have been better to have openly expostulated with Isaac, and have
pointed out to him the danger of despising the divine precept. But she feared probably
the success. And the object appeared to her important. Certain it is, that her conduct, as
well as Jacob’s, on this occasion is not spoken of, in this relation of it, as incurring the
divine displeasure. Neither do I find in any other part of scripture a passage to this
amount. But, as I said before, I do not presume to decide upon it. The Lord the Spirit be
the Reader’s Teacher!
5. CALVI , “And Rebekah heard. Moses now explains more fully the artifice by
which Jacob attained the blessing. It truly appears ridiculous, that an old man,
deceived by the cunning of his wife, should, through ignorance and error, have
given utterance to what was contrary to his wish. And surely the stratagem of
Rebekah was not without fault; for although she could not guide her husband by
salutary counsel, yet it was not a legitimate method of acting, to circumvent him by
such deceit. For, as a lie is in itself culpable, she sinned more grievously still in this,
that she desired to sport in a sacred matter with such wiles. She knew that the
decree by which Jacob had been elected and adopted was immutable; why then does
she not patiently wait till God shall confirm it in fact, and shall show that what he
had once pronounced from heaven is certain? Therefore, she darkens the celestial
oracle by her lie, and abolishes, as far as she was able, the grace promised to her
son. ow, if we consider farther, whence arose this great desire to bestir herself; her
extraordinary faith will on the other hand appear. For, as she did not hesitate to
provoke her husband against herself, to light up implacable enmity between the

27. brothers, to expose her beloved son Jacob to the danger of immediate death, and to
disturb the whole family; this certainly flowed from no other source than her faith.
(42) The inheritance promised by God was firmly fixed in her mind; she knew that
it was decreed to her son Jacob. And therefore, relying upon the covenant of God,
and keeping in mind the oracle received, she forgets the world. Thus, we see, that
her faith was mixed with an unjust and immoderate zeal. This is to be carefully
observed, in order that we may understand that a pure and distinct knowledge does
not always so illuminate the minds of the pious as to cause them to be governed, in
all their actions, by the Holy Spirit, but that the little light which shows them their
path is enveloped in various clouds of ignorance and error; so that while they hold a
right course, and are tending towards the goal, they yet occasionally slide. Finally,
both in Isaac and in his wife the principle of faith was preeminent. But each, by
ignorance in certain particulars, and by other faults, either diverged a little from the
way, or, at least, stumbled in the way. But seeing that, nevertheless, the election of
God stood firm; nay, that he even executed his design through the deceit of a
woman, he vindicates, in this manner, the whole praise of his benediction to his own
gratuitous goodness.
6. K&D 5-17, “Rebekah, who heard what he said, sought to frustrate this intention, and
to secure the blessing for her (favourite) son Jacob. Whilst Esau was away hunting, she
told Jacob to take his father a dish, which she would prepare from two kids according to
his taste; and, having introduced himself as Esau, to ask for the blessing “before
Jehovah.” Jacob's objection, that the father would know him by his smooth skin, and so,
instead of blessing him, might pronounce a curse upon him as a mocker, i.e., one who
was trifling with his blind father, she silenced by saying, that she would take the curse
upon herself. She evidently relied upon the word of promise, and thought that she ought
to do her part to secure its fulfilment by directing the father's blessing to Jacob; and to
this end she thought any means allowable. Consequently she was so assured of the
success of her stratagem as to have no fear of the possibility of a curse. Jacob then
acceded to her plan, and fetched the goats. Rebekah prepared them according to her
husband's taste; and having told Jacob to put on Esau's best clothes which were with her
in the dwelling (the tent, not the house), she covered his hands and the smooth (i.e., the
smoother parts) of his neck with the skins of the kids of the goats,
(Note: We must not think of our European goats, whose skins would be quite
unsuitable for any such deception. “It is the camel-goat of the East, whose black, silk-
like hair was used even by the Romans as a substitute for human hair. Martial xii.
46.” - Tuch on v. 16.)
and sent him with the savoury dish to his father.
7. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 5. Esau went to the field to hunt, &c.] But before he
returned, the blessing was otherwise bestowed. "The hope of the hypocrite shall
perish". [Job 8:13] How many lie languishing at hope’s hospital, as he at the pool of
Bethesda, and no help comes! They repair to the creatures, as to a lottery, with
heads full of hopes, but return with hearts full of blanks. Or, if they draw nigh to
God, they think they take hold of him; but it is but as the child that catcheth at the
shadow or the wall, which he thinks he holds fast in his hand; but it vanisheth. The

28. common hope is ill bottomed. "Hope unfailable," [Romans 5:5] is founded upon
"faith unfeigned". [1 Timothy 1:5] Deo confisi nunquam confusi. He sneaketh
sweetest comfort "to the heart, in the wilderness". [Hosea 2:14]
8. John Phillips writes: "The great temptation for such women is to boss and bully
their husbands. As a result the women become increasingly masculine, and the man
becomes increasingl feminine. A truly strong woman will use her strenghth to
minister strenghth to her husband, not to rob him of whatever backbone he might
once of had. Rebekah's is the story of the unsurrendered wife." (Page 227). Phillps
goes on and comments that Rebekah may have surrendered all respect and Isaac
forfeited all right to Rebekah's respect down in Gerar. What a pity she never knew
her mother-in-law who could have taught her a few things about submission, even in
the face of that awful experience.
Rebekah is determined to outsmart her husband. Besides she has "scripture on her
side". It is amazing how we can justify our deceit. The question really is; "Does God
really need our clever little schemes?" God could have chased off the venison for a
hundred miles in every direction. He could have spoken to Isaac in such a clear and
compelling way, that he dared not disobey.
Here we have the sorry spectacle of a wife deceiving her husband, and the wife all
the while thinking she has no other choice. She would pay for it in the end. Before
the day is over her son will be fleeing for his life. God does not let us get away with
our sin. "For a few days" she consoled herself. But those days would turn to months
and years. 20 years, she never saw her boy again. She died before he ever came
back. It could very well be that Jacob was not spoken. Surely the way of the
transgressor is hard.
9. RAY PRITCHARDRAY PRITCHARDRAY PRITCHARDRAY PRITCHARD Portrait of a Dysfunctional Family
Genesis 27
Although it is not a new word, most of us never heard the term "dysfunctional" until
a few years ago. In the last decade, however, "dysfunctional" has become one of the
buzz-words of this mixed-up generation. The dictionary defines the noun dysfunction
as "the disordered or impaired functioning of a bodily system or organ." In laymen's
terms that means your body doesn't work the way it is supposed to.
But that's not exactly how the word is used today. Most often we hear
"dysfunctional" applied to human relationships—we hear of dysfunctional families
and dysfunctional marriages, for example. In both cases, dysfunctional describes
intimate human relationships that don't work the way they are supposed to work.
Go to your favorite secular or Christian bookstore and you will find dozens of books
with the word "dysfunc-tional" in the title:

29. —"Secrets of a Dysfunctional Family"
—"Healing a Dysfunctional Marriage"
—"Overcoming Your Dysfunctional Childhood"
—"Dysfunctional Relationships—Where They Come From, How to Change Them"
Our particular focus in this study is on dysfunctional families. Here's a working
definition: A dysfunctional family is one in which there has been a major breakdown
in the basic relationships within the family so that the family itself no longer
functions properly.
There's no such thing as a perfect family—never has been and never will be as
long as sin is part of the human condition. Sin distorts everything we do and say
—it colors life so that no marriage, no family, no parent-child relationship is truly
perfect.
Dysfunctional Families Aren't New Having said that, it's not surprising that
when we turn to the pages of Holy Scripture, we don't have to look very far to
find dysfunctional family relationships:
1. Consider the very first family—Adam and Eve who blamed each other for their
own disobedience.
2. Consider their children—Cain murdered his brother Abel.
3. Consider Noah's three sons—Ham disgraced his father by uncovering his
nakedness.
4. Consider Abraham and Sarah—He lied about his wife, calling her his sister. His
nephew Lot turned out to be a major disappointment.
5. Consider David—Although he was a great king, a great warrior, and a great
poet, as a father and husband he was a failure. His marriage to Michal was
largely a failure, his marriage to Bathsheba was based on an adulterous affair,
and his son Absalom turned against him. As his kingdom crumbled, so did his
family.
Three Generations of Family Dysfunction If you want another example,
consider the family of Jacob and Esau. Let's start two generations before with
Abraham and Sarah. The dysfunction begins when Sarah is unable to conceive so
Abraham sleeps with Hagar, Sarah's maidservant. When Abraham goes in to
Hagar, a son is created whose name is Ishmael. The resulting relationship causes
so much strain between Sarah and Hagar that Hagar runs away. At length Hagar
returns, gives birth to Ishmael, and a tenuous peace is restored until Sarah gives
birth to Isaac, at which point Abraham in response to Sarah's complaints sends
Hagar and Ishmael away for good. What's going on here? Not only do Sarah and
Hagar not get along, neither do Ishmael and Isaac get along.
We pass now to the second generation. Isaac marries Rebekah and after 20
years, she gives birth to Jacob and Esau. But the boys are very different, and
Isaac prefers Esau while Rebekah loves Jacob. This family favoritism is not
hidden to the two boys, who become rivals, not allies. While sibling rivalry is a
fact of life—even in the best of families—in dysfunctional families the rivalry
becomes the defining fact of family life. That's what happens with Jacob and
Esau. Because of their vastly different personalities, and because of parental
favoritism, they are destined to be rivals (and sometimes bitter enemies) as long
as they live.
No One Looks Good When we come to Genesis 27, the three generations of
family dysfunction are about to come to a fearful climax. Those patterns of

30. unhealthy relationships ultimately will destroy Jacob's own family. What you see
at the beginning of this chapter is a family that, while not working very well, at
least is staying together. By the end of the chapter the family has been blown
apart once and for all.
10. Rev. Bruce Goettsche, "The one thing you don't have to teach in school is
the art of making excuses. I'm not sure when we first master this skill but it
seems like it is early in life. Have you heard the "Psychiatric Folk Song" by Anna
Russell?
I went to my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyzed
To find out why I killed the cat and blacked my husband's eye.
He laid me on a downy couch to see what he could find,
And here's what he dredged up, from my subconscious mind.
When I was one, my mummy hid my dolly in a trunk
And so it follows, naturally, that I am always drunk.
When I was two, I saw my father kiss the maid one day,
and that is why I suffer from kleptomania.
At three I had a feeling of ambivalence towards my brothers
and so it follows naturally I poisoned all my lovers.
but I am happy now I have learned the lessons this has taught:
Everything I do that's wrong, is someone else's fault!
It's tongue in cheek but the point is made. We seem to have an excuse for
everything. One of the most famous excuses of all is really a philosophy: "the end
justifies the means". It's proclaimed in various forms:
1. nobody was hurt
2. everything turned out O.K.
3. we made a profit
4. we got elected
In our text this morning we see an illustration of what happens when we
function by the principle that the end justifies the means. But let me caution
you here . . . it is easy to sit on our "high horse" and look down at Isaac,
Rebekah, Jacob and Esau. We must be careful because we are more like
them than we like to think. We read a very human story here.
11. COFFMAN, “Esau is consistently called "his son," and Jacob is called "my son" by Rebekah.
Although Isaac evidently thought he might die soon, he lived, in fact, some forty more years
afterward. The temporary blindness (?) and disability that came upon him could very well have been
providential as a means of frustrating his evil purpose.
The skill of Rebekah who could prepare little goats to taste like venison has often been mentioned,
but this should be understood in the light of Isaac's state of health and debilitation.
"I shall seem to him as a deceiver ..." Jacob did not object to the deception they planned, but only
to the possibility of detection.
"Upon me be thy curse ..." Along with the rash prayer of Rachel (Genesis 30:1), this impromptu

31. prayer of Rebekah was a disaster, for she did indeed that day suffer the loss of her beloved Jacob
and never saw him anymore. "Little did she realize that her death would come before he could
return. Indeed the curse did fall upon her."[11]
"The skins of the kids of the goats ..." "These were the Oriental camel-goats, whose wool is
black, silky, and of a fine texture, sometimes used as a substitute for human hair."[12]
This bold and unscrupulous plan of deception was executed with skill and efficiency. It succeeded
because of its very daring.
"The goodly garments of Esau ... which were with her in the house ..." This should probably not
be read as indicating that Esau and his two pagan wives were living in the same house with Isaac
and Rebekah. If that was the case, it might indicate that this chapter is related out of chronological
sequence, which after all, is not unusual. However, perhaps Morris was correct in the view that:
"The goodly garments might have been special garments associated with the priestly function of the
head of the house. If so, it would appear that Rebekah had kept these in her own house for this
purpose."[13]
If that was the case, it should be noted that Esau had gone hunting in them, hence the smell
mentioned by Isaac, and such disrespect for the sacred garments would have been thoroughly in
keeping with Esau's character.
12. COKE, “Genesis 27:5-6, &c. And Rebekah, &c.— Rebekah, acquainted with the Divine will
concerning the channel in which the grand promise was to pass, resolved to do her part towards
preventing the ill effects of Isaac's partial fondness for an eldest son, who had already indicated so
unworthy a disposition. To which end she incites her son Jacob to an act of deceit, endeavouring to
absolve him from all guilt or blame, if he consent: Upon me be thy curse, my son, Genesis 27:13.;
as much as to say, I will warrant thee success, and will readily bear all the evil, if any happen.
REFLECTIONS.—Infirmities of age were come upon Isaac; and therefore, as his time was likely to
be short, he resolves,
1. To bestow on Esau, as first-born, the blessing of the promised land andSEED ; perhaps, not
understanding the prophecy, or not attending to it through natural affection and the rights of
primogeniture.Note; Man proposes, but God disposes.
2. He communicates his resolution to Esau, who was still it seems his favourite, though he had
displeased him byMARRIAGE ; and bids him shew one instance of his affection in procuring him
some venison, that he might eat, and bless him before he died. Note; (1.) Though children marry
imprudently, parents must not be inflexible in their resentments. (2.) When we grow old, it is time to
think of dying. (3.) All worldly concerns should be dispatched before that time: it is then work
enough to die.
But Rebekah overhearing the conversation between Isaac and Esau, resolves immediately to put
Jacob in his place, a thing, in many respects, utterly unjustifiable. Had she pleaded with Isaac the
Divine command,SIMPLICITY had probably prevailed, and Jacob, without a cheat, had got the
blessing: yea, it must have prevailed, because the truth and promise of God were pledged. But now
she contrives the plot, and will have Jacob execute it.
6
Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard
your father say to your brother Esau,

32. 1. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, overhears this and she’s furious. She’s furious that Isaac is
choosing Esau, his favorite son, over Jacob, her favorite son. So she comes up with this
scheme.
2, PINK, "How like Sarah before her, who, in a similar "evil hour" imagined that she
could give effect to the Divine promise by fleshly expediencies (Gen. 16:2). As another
has suggested "they both acted on that God dishonoring proverb that ‘The Lord helps
those who help themselves,’" whereas the truth is, the Lord helps those who have come to
the end of themselves. If Rebekah really had confidence in the Divine promise she might
well have followed tranquilly the path of duty, assured that in due time God would
Himself bring His word to pass."
3. Gill, “And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,.... Who was in the tent with her,
and for whom she had the strongest affection:
saying, behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother; heard the
conversation that passed between them, and particularly what Isaac had given in charge
to Esau:
4. Henry 6-17, “Rebekah is here contriving to procure for Jacob the blessing which was
designed for Esau; and here,
I. The end was good, for she was directed in this intention by the oracle of God, by
which she had been governed in dispensing her affections. God had said it should be so,
that the elder should serve the younger; and therefore Rebekah resolves it shall be so,
and cannot bear to see her husband designing to thwart the oracle of God. But,
II. The means were bad, and no way justifiable. If it was not a wrong to Esau to deprive
him of the blessing (he himself having forfeited it by selling the birthright), yet it was a
wrong to Isaac, taking advantage of his infirmity, to impose upon him; it was a wrong to
Jacob too, whom she taught to deceive, by putting a lie into his mouth, or at least by
putting one into his right hand. It would likewise expose him to endless scruples about
the blessing, if he should obtain it thus fraudulently, whether it would stand him or his in
any stead, especially if his father should revoke it, upon the discovery of the cheat, and
plead, as he might, that it was nulled by an error personae - a mistake of the person. He
himself also was aware of the danger, lest (Gen_27:12), if he should miss of the blessing,
as he might probably have done, he should bring upon himself his father's curse, which
he dreaded above any thing; besides, he laid himself open to that divine curse which is
pronounced upon him that causeth the blind to wander out of the way, Deu_27:18. If
Rebekah, when she heard Isaac promise the blessing to Esau, had gone, at his return
from hunting, to Isaac, and, with humility and seriousness, put him in remembrance of
that which God had said concerning their sons, - if she further had shown him how Esau
had forfeited the blessing both by selling his birthright and by marrying strange wives, it
is probable that Isaac would have been prevailed upon knowingly and wittingly to confer
the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have been cheated into it. This would
have been honourable and laudable, and would have looked well in the history; but God
left her to herself, to take this indirect course, that he might have the glory of bringing

33. good out of evil, and of serving his own purposes by the sins and follies of men, and that
we might have the satisfaction of knowing that, though there is so much wickedness and
deceit in the world, God governs it according to his will, to his own praise. See
Job_12:16, With him are strength and wisdom, the deceived and the deceiver are his.
Isaac had lost the sense of seeing, which, in this case, could not have been imposed upon,
Providence having so admirably well ordered the difference of features that no two faces
are exactly alike: conversation and commerce could scarcely be maintained if there were
not such a variety. Therefore she endeavours to deceive, 1. His sense of tasting, by
dressing some choice pieces of kid, seasoning them, serving them up, so as to make him
believe they were venison: this it was no hard matter to do. See the folly of those that are
nice and curious in their appetite, and take a pride in humouring it. It is easy to impose
upon them with that which they pretend to despise and dislike, so little perhaps does it
differ from that to which they give a decided preference. Solomon tells us that dainties
are deceitful meat; for it is possible for us to be deceived by them in more ways than one,
Pro_23:32. 2. His sense of feeling and smelling. She put Esau's clothes upon Jacob, his
best clothes, which, it might be supposed, Esau would put on, in token of joy and respect
to his father, when he was to receive the blessing. Isaac knew these, by the stuff, shape,
and smell, to be Esau's. If we would obtain a blessing from our heavenly Father, we must
come for it in the garments of our elder brother, clothed with his righteousness, who is
the first-born among many brethren. Lest the smoothness and softness of Jacob's hands
and neck should betray him, she covered them, and probably part of his face, with the
skins of the kids that were newly killed, Gen_27:16. Esau was rough indeed when
nothing less than these would serve to make Jacob like him. Those that affect to seem
rough and rugged in their carriage put the beast upon the man, and really shame
themselves, by thus disguising themselves. And, lastly, it was a very rash word which
Rebekah spoke, when Jacob objected the danger of a curse: Upon me be thy curse, my
son, Gen_27:13. Christ indeed, who is mighty to save, because mighty to bear, has said,
Upon me be the curse, only obey my voice; he has borne the burden of the curse, the
curse of the law, for all those that will take upon them the yoke of the command, the
command of the gospel. But it is too daring for any creature to say, Upon me be the
curse, unless it be that curse causeless which we are sure shall not come, Pro_26:2.
5. Jamison 6-10, “Rebekah spake unto Jacob — She prized the blessing as
invaluable; she knew that God intended it for the younger son [Gen_25:23]; and in her
anxiety to secure its being conferred on the right object - on one who cared for religion -
she acted in the sincerity of faith; but in crooked policy - with unenlightened zeal; on the
false principle that the end would sanctify the means.
6. BI 6-10, 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
Rebekah’s cunning plot in favour of Jacob
I. THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN IT.
1. The partiality of a fond mother.
2. Ambition.
II. THE RELIGIOUS ELEMENT IN IT.

34. 1. It seemed as if the oracle of God was likely to become void.
2. The crisis was urgent. (T. H. Leale.)
Crooked measures to obtain a worthy object
This is a mysterious affair. It was just that Esau should lose the blessing, for by selling his
birthright he had despised it. It was God’s design, too, that Jacob should have it.
Rebekah also knowing of this design, from it having been revealed to her that “the elder
should serve the younger,” appears to have acted from a good motive. But the scheme
which she formed to correct the error of her husband was far from being justifiable. It
was one of those crooked measures which have too often been adopted to accomplish the
Divine promises; as if the end would justify, or at least excuse the means. Thus Sarah
acted in giving Hagar to Abraham; and thus many others have acted under the idea of
being useful in promoting the cause of Christ. The answer to all such things is that which
God addressed to Abraham: “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.”
The deception practised on Isaac was cruel. If he be in the wrong, endeavour to convince
him; or commit it to God, who could turn his mind, as he afterwards did that of Jacob
when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh; but do not avail yourself of his loss of sight to
deceive him. Such would have been the counsel of wisdom and rectitude; but Rebekah
follows her own. (A. Fuller.)
Use of unscrupulous meals by religious persons
To this day the method of Rebekah and Jacob is largely adopted by religious persons. It
is notorious that persons whose ends are good frequently become thoroughly
unscrupulous about the means they use to accomplish them. They dare not say in so
many words that they may do evil that good may come, nor do they think it a tenable
position in morals that the end sanctifies the means; and yet their consciousness of a
justifiable and desirable end undoubtedly does blunt their sensitiveness regarding the
legitimacy of the means they employ. For example, Protestant controversialists,
persuaded that vehement opposition to Popery is good, and filled with the idea of
accomplishing its downfall, are often guilty of gross misrepresentation, because they do
not sufficiently inform themselves of the actual tenets and practices of the Church of
Rome. In all controversy, religious and political, it is the same. It is always dishonest to
circulate reports that you have no means of authenticating; yet how freely are such
reports circulated to blacken the character of an opponent, and to prove his opinions to
be dangerous. It is always dishonest to condemn opinions we have not inquired into,
merely because of some fancied consequence which these opinions carry in them; yet
how freely are opinions condemned by men who have never been at the trouble carefully
to inquire into their truth. They do not feel the dishonesty of their position, because they
have a general consciousness that they are on the side of religion, and of what has
generally passed for truth. All keeping back of facts which are supposed to have an
unsettling effect is but a repetition of this sin. There is no sin more hateful. Under the
appearance of serving God, and maintaining His cause in the world, it insults Him by
assuming that, if the whole bare, undisguised truth were spoken, His cause would suffer.
The fate of all such attempts to manage God’s matters by keeping things dark, and
misrepresenting fact, is written for all who care to understand in the results of this
scheme of Rebekah’s and Jacob’s. They gained nothing, and they lost a great deal, by
their wicked interference. They gained nothing; for God had promised that the birthright

35. would be Jacob’s, and would have given it him in some way redounding to his credit and
not to his shame. And they lost a great deal. The mother lost her son; Jacob had to flee
for his life, and, for all we know, Rebekah never saw him more. And Jacob lost all the
comforts of home, and all those possessions his father had accumulated. He had to flee
with nothing but his staff, an outcast to begin the world for himself. From this first false
step onwards to his death, he was pursued by misfortune, until his own verdict on his life
was, “Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.” (M. Dods, D. D.)
Ahead of Providence
Luther was very importunate at the throne of grace to know the mind of God in a certain
matter; and it seemed to him as if he heard God speak to his heart thus: “I am not to be
traced.” One adds, “If He is not to be traced, He may be trusted; and that religion is of
little value which will not enable a man to trust God where he can neither trace nor see
Him. But there is a time for everything beneath the sun; and the Almighty has His ‘times
and seasons.’ It has been frequently with my hopes and desires, in regard to Providence,
as with my watch and the sun. My watch has often been ahead of true time; I have gone
faster than Providence, and have been forced to stand still and wait, or I have been set
back painfully. Flavel says, ‘Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read
backwards.’” (J. G. Wilson.)
God will not have His kingdom maintained by carnal policy
We must walk in simplicity, sine plicis, for though the serpent can shrink up into his
folds, and appear what he is not, yet it doth not become the saint to shuffle either with
God or men. Jacob got the blessing by a wile, but he might have got it cheaper by plain
dealing. (W. Gurnall.)
A lie not permitted to man
The minister of the seminary at Clermont, France, having been seized at Autun by the
populace, the mayor, who wished to save him, advised him not to take the oath, but to
allow him to tell the people that he had taken it. “I would myself make known your
falsehood to the people,” replied the clergyman; “it is not permitted me to ransom my life
by a lie. The God who prohibits my taking the oath will not allow me to make it believed
that I have taken it.” The mayor was silent, and the minister was martyred.
7
`Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty
food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the
presence of the LORD before I die.'

36. 1. Gill, “Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat,.... Fetch him venison out
of the field, and dress it in a savoury manner, and bring it to him:
that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death; the phrase
"before the Lord" is here added, which yet perhaps might be expressed by Isaac, though
before omitted by the historian, and has a very considerable emphasis in it; for this
solemn blessing was given not only in the presence of the Lord, and before him as a
witness, but by calling upon him, and praying for direction in it, and then pronouncing it
in his name and by his authority, he approving of it, so that it was ever after irrevocable.
2. SCOTT HOEZEE
That doesn't work, though, in that the birthright and the blessing are two different
things. So just because Esau let Jacob have his birthright benefit did not mean it
was right for Jacob later to angle for the father's special blessing, too. He just stole
it, that's all. What makes this theft even more dramatic is the way Rebekah and
Jacob speak during this affair.
You maybe didn't notice this when we read the whole story a few minutes ago,
but do you know that neither Isaac nor Esau ever utter the holy name
"Yahweh"? Do you know who does invoke God's holy name: Rebekah and
Jacob smack in the midst of their deceit! In verse 7 Rebekah reports Isaac's
words to Jacob, claiming that Isaac had told Esau that he would give Esau the
blessing, "in the presence of Yahweh." But look back at what Isaac is reported
to have said in verse 4 and you will see that Isaac actually did not mention the
presence of Yahweh. Rebekah does. Rebekah is well aware that the scheme she
and Jacob are quite literally cooking up will take place in the presence of
Yahweh. Yet still she presses forward with the deception.
Then, once Jacob appears before dottering old Isaac, the old man wonders how
Esau had managed to hunt down some critter so quickly. It is then that Jacob tells
one of the more bold-faced of his lies, but look at how he tells it in verse 20:
"Yahweh, your God, gave me success." He not only lies, he brings Yahweh down
into this tawdry action, evoking this holy God of Abraham and Isaac and so, in a
way, making Yahweh his partner in crime!
In the narrative as we have it, God is not said to do or say anything directly. The
motivations for all this appear quite secular, mundane, and so very human.
Rebekah may have loved both of her boys, but she didn't much like Esau. He
was about as dumb as he was hairy and Rebekah simply couldn't abide the
thought of his taking over the family once Isaac was dead. What made all of this
more acute for Rebekah was a small, but telling, little detail at the very end of

37. Genesis 26: at the age of 40 Esau married two Hittite girls named Judith and
Basemath and from the sounds of things, as daughters-in-law go, these two were
a real burden to Isaac and Rebekah. They were, we are told, "a source of grief."
However, you get the feeling that the fact Esau had married two such losers was
not a source of amazement, at least not to Rebekah. The amazing thing would
have been if Esau had actually managed to settle down with a nice girl.
8
ow, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:
1. Gill, “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to what I am about to
say, and do
according to that which I command thee, in every particular; she required of
him filial obedience to all that she enjoined him; which, though not difficult to be
performed, she was aware Jacob would make objections to, as he did; and therefore she
is so pressing and peremptory in her injunctions, as well knowing it was respecting an
affair of the greatest moment and importance.
2. SCOTT HOEZEE. “Rebekah just liked Jacob more. True, God had tipped her
off with a cryptic oracle about how the older would one day serve the younger, but
you don't get the sense in Genesis 27 that Rebekah is trying to fulfill some divine
command. She is instead taking matters into her own hands. She doesn't pray for
God's guidance, doesn't try to reason with Isaac. Instead she chooses a course of
deception and she is well aware from the get-go that Jacob has the wits, the
intelligence, and the native ability to be a good liar to make the thing work. And it
does. Isaac is taken in by fake hair and the smell of the outdoors from Esau's clothes
on Jacob's body.
3. RO THOMAS, “It is interesting to observe that Isaac's intention to bless Esau
was not something he shared with his wife, Rebekah. Why? He knew that she would
have a problem with it! This is a house divided! Because Isaac favored Esau and
Rebekah favored Jacob, there grew a great wall of indifference and secrecy between
the two. Rebekah happened to overhear the conversation between Isaac and Esau.
Children are preprogramed to divide and conquer. They know how to pit one
parent against the other, so that they are home free to do as they please! They know
which parent to ask certain favors when the other is not around. Fathers and
mothers need to always be on the same page, talking together, praying together,

38. working together, for the good of the children.
Gaining this bit of information, Rebekah had some options. We always have options.
She could confront her husband Isaac about his decision to bless Esau. Even though
Jacob was her favorite, she still had the weight of God's Word behind her. The Lord
had spoken and told her as well as her husband that the older would serve the
younger. This was God's Word and will.
She could have entreated the Lord for wisdom and help, so to remedy the situation.
As a younger woman, she sought wisdom from God in prayer and the Lord was
gracious to give her insight into her situation. James 1:5 reads, "If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and
it shall be given him."
Truly, Rebekah could have, should have prayed and confronted her husband. She
could have sought the Lord, then sought her husband, making him accountable to
God. If Isaac would not listen, Rebekah could have once again taken the matter to
God, asking Him to intervene. This is what Abigail did concerning her husband, and
the Lord took care of abal! The Lord could have caused Isaac to experience a
change of heart. The Lord could have moved Esau to forfeit his right to the blessing,
realizing that it was not God's will. The Lord could have seen to it that Esau had a
hunting accident! Is anything too hard for the Lord? Listen, God has a thousand
ways to answer every prayer!
Instead, Rebekah immediately begins to plot and scheme to get her way. In doing so
she misuses her parental influence and authority. In verse 8 she tells her son, " ow
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee." Here
Rebekah puts Jacob in a difficult situation. He is faced with obeying his mother, or
obeying God; pleasing his mother or pleasing God. This is a tough place to be!
Several times in this passage, Rebekah uses the word, "obey." otice verse 13. "And
his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and
go fetch me them."
We must remember that it is never right to do wrong! All authority comes from
God, and we are to respect and obey that authority as long as it is affirming the
Word of God and the will of God.
9
Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young
goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your
father, just the way he likes it.

39. 1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 9. Savoury meat for thy father, &c.] She knew his diet, and
could fit his tooth. The wife is to take care to please ( µεριµνα) her husband; to use
her wits, and busy her thoughts how to give him content in diet, and other things of
the world, as the apostle hath it. [1 Corinthians 7:34] It was devilish policy in
Agrippina, the mother of ero - and it came home to her - to temper the poison that
she gave her husband Claudius the emperor, in the meat he most delighted in, (a)
and then to make a jest of it. Let us be sure to bring God such service as he loveth.
He will eat, not only our "honey," but our "honeycomb"; he will drink, not only our
"wine," but our "milk"; [Song of Solomon 5:1] take in good part unperfect
performances, so the heart be upright. But displeasing service is a double dishonour.
The fat of rams was rejected with infinite disdain, where the hands are full of blood,
the heart of sin. [Isaiah 1:11; Isaiah 1:15] The philosopher (b) could complain of his
countrymen, that when they went to offer sacrifice to health, they did then banquet
most riotously against health.
2. Gill, “Go now to the flock,.... To the flock he had the care of, and that immediately,
for the case required haste:
and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; two young kids that were
fat, as Jonathan and Ben Melech interpret it; and, though two may seem to be too much
to be dressed for Isaac only; it may be observed, that Rebekah intended only to take out
some of the choicest and most tender and delicate parts of them, and which would best
suit her purpose, and which she would make most like to venison; and the rest could be
disposed of for the use of the family: and, if it should be questioned whether Rebekah
had a right to do this without her husband's leave, the Jewish writers have an answer
ready; that, in her dowry or matrimonial contract, Isaac had allowed her to take two kids
of the goats every day (p):
and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth; such as
would pass with him for venison: Jarchi says, that the taste of a kid is like the taste of a
young roe or fawn; however, by seasoning, the natural taste might be altered so as not to
be distinguished, as we find it was; and such as have the best skill in venison may be
imposed upon and deceived by more ways than one, as well as Isaac was.
10
Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give
you his blessing before he dies."

40. 1. Here we see the evidence of a dysfunctional marriage. Rebekah is going to go
against a plan that she knows is the will of her husband. She is spying on him and
using what she gains by invading his privacy to thwart his purpose. She is a
disobedient wife, and on top of it she gets her son to go along with defying his
father's will. ow you have the corrupting of the family unity, and so a
dysfunctional family.
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 10. And thou shalt bring it to thy father.] Though this
action, in the general intendment, was good, yet the execution of it wanted not
particular error. Her course had been, rather, to have reminded her husband of
God’s promise to Jacob, and gently to have exhorted him to do nothing against it;
and then to have entreated the Lord, to bend his mind to the obedience of his divine
will, though to the crossing of his own. But the saint’s righteousness, while here, is
mixed; as light and darkness, dimness at least, in a painted glass, dyed with some
obscure and dim colour: it is transparent, and giveth good, but not clear and pure
light.
2. Gill, “And thou shall bring it to thy father,.... For venison; and as if he was Esau
that brought it:
that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death; to whom she knew
by the divine oracle the blessing belonged, Gen_25:23, as well as by virtue of the sale of
the birthright to him by his brother, Gen_25:33, and through Esau's forfeiting of it by
marrying with the Canaanites, Gen_26:34; in these her sentiments she was right, but
wrong in the ways and means she took to get it for him.
3. Twins
When you walk anywhere with two babies you are sure to get plenty of attention. It
seems so romantic to have twins. But as one mother poet says, it ain’t all glamorous.
Drudgery that’s double or more.
Laundering till your hands are sore;
Tangle of lines with soggy things drying.
Day and night chorus of yelling and crying,
Endless chores and no end of expenses,
Worries that drive you out of your senses.
Everyone bothering you with questions,
Everyone giving you crazy suggestions,
If I knew whom to blame for twins, I’d sue’em
Those who want twins are welcome to ‘em.
4. Five Symptoms Here are five symptoms of a dysfunctional family:

41. 1. Estrangement—Family members who avoid other family members.
2. Anger—It may be expressed or repressed.
3. Lack of Trust—Seen in faulty patterns of communication.
4. Deception—Inability to speak the truth to other family members.
5. Unhealthy Secrecy—Refusal to face the truth.
Note: You may find one or more of these traits in healthy families from time to time,
but dysfunctional families adopt these traits as a normal pattern of life.
It may surprise you to know that, although the word is new, the concept of a
dysfunctional family is not new at all. The idea itself goes back to the very beginning
of time. After all, the real cause of dysfunctionality is the entrance of sin into the
human race. Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, every family has been
dysfunc-tional to one degree or another. As long as you have sin, even the best
relationships will be less than perfect.
5. Charles Spurgeon writes, “Do right if heaven itself should grieve. If the skies
should not be propped except by a lie, let them fall. Come what may, you never
must in any degree or in any shape depart from the honest, the true, the right,
the Christ-like, that which God commands, that which alone God will approve.
[Spurgeon Metropolitan Tabernacle Vol. 61 p. 379]
6. BOB SANDERS The Moral of the Story6. BOB SANDERS The Moral of the Story6. BOB SANDERS The Moral of the Story6. BOB SANDERS The Moral of the Story
This is not a happy story. It ends in tragedy for everyone. Isaac has nothing left
with which to bless Esau, and Esau is so bitter he plans to kill Jacob as soon as
their father dies. Rebekah has to send Jacob far away to live with her relatives to
avoid Esau’s rage. Jacob skulks off, a penniless and homeless refugee. He’ll be
gone for the next twenty years, and Rebekah will die without ever seeing her
beloved child again.
Perhaps you’re wondering, “What’s the moral of this story?” Good question. I’ve
thought of several. See if one of these fits you.
One might be how God can work through even the most screwed-up and
dysfunctional families to bring blessing. Maybe you think your family situation is
pretty bleak, pretty hopeless. But if God can use Jacob’s family in all its
weirdness, he probably can use yours as well.
Another might be to think about the power of blessing in your own life. Who was
it that you most wanted to receive the blessing from? Did you ever get it? What
has it meant for you? Or, you might think about how you’re using the power of

42. blessing that you have. Have your children received your blessing? Have you
told them in words how special they are, how much you love them, how much
you value each one for who he / she is? Maybe your children are quite young.
Maybe they’re already grown and gone. But no matter their age, they still long to
receive your blessing.
You might also think about your power to bless people like your spouse or your
close friends: to discern what God is doing in their lives, and to choose words
that affirm and empower them to become that person. You have the power to
give blessing, or to withhold it. How are you using it?
And one other idea. Like Jacob, it may seem like you have to pretend to be
someone you’re not in order to get the approval and the blessing of the people in
your life. It happens. I know. But I want you to know this: you don’t have to
pretend to get the approval and blessing of God. You just have to be yourself –
even if that self seems pretty pitiful, pretty inadequate. Even if that self isn’t the
one others want to see. It’s the self God sees, and loves, and cherishes.
“There’s no one like you,” God wants to say. “I love you so much I sent my
firstborn Son, to die for you. He dressed up like you, took on your sins and
failures, so that you might become like him – my beloved child. Don’t keep trying
to fake it. Accept it: the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
Amen.
From a sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Keller entitled “The Problem of
Blessing” to Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York, New York on Oct. 28, 2001.
I’m indebted to Dr. Keller for many of the insights in this message.
7. WESLEY Rebekah is here contriving to procure the blessing for Jacob, which
was designed for Esau. If the end was good, the means were bad, and no way
justifiable. If it were not a wrong to Esau to deprive him of the blessing, he himself
having forfeited it by selling the birth right, yet it was a wrong to Isaac, taking
advantage of his infirmity, to impose upon him: it was a wrong to Jacob, whom she
taught to deceive, by putting a lie in his mouth. If Rebekah, when she heard Isaac
promise the blessing to Esau, had gone to him, and with humility and seriousness
put him in remembrance of that which God had said concerning their sons; if she
had farther shewed him how Esau had forfeited the blessing, both by selling his
birth-right, and by marrying of strange wives; 'tis probable Isaac would have been
prevailed with to confer the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have been

43. cheated into it. This had been honourable and laudable, and would have looked well
in history; but God left her to herself to take this indirect course, that he might have
the glory of bringing good out of evil.
8. THEOLOGICAL ISSUE OF GOD’S PREDETERMINED WILL AND MAN’S
FREE WILL. BY an unknown author.
Can God bless through unrighteousnessCan God bless through unrighteousnessCan God bless through unrighteousnessCan God bless through unrighteousness
I have a real problem with Rebekah's and Jacob's deception. If God is a God of truth, then
this is the opposite of truth. It is a sin. It is unrighteous. And though it is quite in keeping
with Jacob's opportunistic and deceptive character so far, it is hardly worthy of approval
-- except perhaps by shrewd people who value expediency over integrity.
Can God -- does God -- intend sin to work out his purposes? The surprising answer of
Genesis is "yes." Later in Genesis we come to the sordid tale of Joseph's brothers selling
him into slavery out of jealously, and then deceiving Jacob by dipping Joseph's coat in
animal blood and giving it to the grieving father. But in spite of being a slave, and an
untrue charge of rape, because God's hand is on him, Joseph appears before Pharaoh,
prophetically interprets Pharoah's dream, is appointed second in command in the entire
kingdom, and saves an entire nation from starvation through his preparations for the
famine. After Jacob finally dies, Joseph's brothers are terrified. Now that their father is
dead he won't hesitate to punish them for selling him into slavery many years before.
They come to him pleading their father's deathbed wishes. Listen to Joseph's answer:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20).
While Joseph's brothers had sold him into slavery with the basest of motives, and a clear
sin against him and against their father, "God intended it for good ...." Does this mean
that somehow Joseph's brothers are innocent, that God made them do it and they had no
choice? No. They were responsible for their sin, just as Judas was responsible for his sin,
even though in his sin he was fulfilling prophecy.
"The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that
man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not
been born." (Mark 14:21)
God's sovereignty and man's free willGod's sovereignty and man's free willGod's sovereignty and man's free willGod's sovereignty and man's free will
We see human sin and responsibility on the one side, and God working out his plan on
the other. Of course, we're getting deep into things we scarcely understand. We throw
around such words as predestination, foreknowledge, foreordination, and the like as if we
understood them. They are merely theological constructs to label what we've never
experienced firsthand. Whole churches have divided over views of God's sovereignty and
man's will, and there's no need to re-visit these sorry controversies.
But to be biblical and balanced we must affirm two seemingly contrary truths:

44. 27. God is sovereign
28. Man has a free will
Both are somehow true. I take great comfort in Romans 8:28-29:
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
In spite of man's evil, God will still work good and his plan out of it and in spite of it.
True, man's evil causes great pain and suffering which God does not always shield us
from -- nor did he shield his own Son -- but he will work out his plan.
Preferring one child over anotherPreferring one child over anotherPreferring one child over anotherPreferring one child over another
Rebekah loved Jacob which Isaac loved Esau (25:28). What trouble this caused! But
Jacob himself made the same mistake by loving the sons of his beloved wife Rachel --
Joseph and Benjamin -- to the obvious pain and jealously of their brothers. Later, David
makes a similar mistake to the run of his family.
As parents, we need to learn from this. While we cannot love our children the same, we
must love them equally if we want to produce a peaceful household and children whose
lives are blessed. Of course, our children are different, and we show our love in different
ways to them. One is an athlete, and we encourage him in sports. Another is an artist and
we encourage her in her art, and try to find ways of furthering her talents and skills. Yes,
here brother may misunderstand our attentions, but we must make him feel loved, too.
Sometimes it's a difficult balancing act, but we must stay on the tightwire. If we don't, we
produce children who feel unloved by their parents, and cause both family strife and great
personal unhappiness. Love is the key.
Jacob have I loved ....Jacob have I loved ....Jacob have I loved ....Jacob have I loved ....
We can't leave this passage without looking for a moment at God's preference of Jacob
over Esau. Esau was a descendent of Abraham, but didn't have the spiritual acuity to
appreciate it. While God blessed his descendents with nation-status, the country of Edom,
they were subjugated again and again by the sons of Jacob (Israel). Why?
Here we really get into the thick of predestination. In explaining God's sovereignty in
Romans 9, Paul uses Jacob and Esau as examples and quotes Malachi 1:2-3:
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob,
but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland
and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
This indicates, says the Apostle Paul, "... that God's purpose in election might stand: not
by works but by him who calls" (9:11) "It does not ... depend on man's desire or effort,
but on God's mercy" (9:16).
This is a hard pill for us to swallow, that God is in ultimate control and we can't do
anything about it. We don't like anyone taking away our control of our destiny, do we?
Not even God.
Did God really love Jacob and hate Esau? No. God loved them both, but for his plan of

45. redemption he preferred Jacob over Esau, and decided to bring the blessings of Abraham
to the entire world through the offspring of Jacob rather than Esau. "Love" and "hate" are
used hyperbolically in place of "prefer" or "show favor" in order to make a point.
It's pretty obvious that neither Jacob nor Esau had a sterling character. God didn't chose
Jacob over Esau because Jacob was more righteous. God had a plan in spite of Jacob's
character. Oh, God works on Jacob's character and changes it, as we'll see in successive
weeks, but his plan and purpose for Jacob is not dependent upon Jacob's goodness and
worthiness, but on God's grace and plan.
ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusion
And all this time you thought the Old Testament had nothing to say!
While we haven't got all our questions answered, this passage which contrasts Jacob and
Esau has given us lots to think about, and good grist for character insight and personal
growth for us. We've seen that there's hope for people as flawed as we are. We've seen
that God's choice to bless us is based on His own purposes, not us. And that should give
us hope. For surely, God has made clear in the New Testament that he intends to bless us
in spite of ourselves, in spite of our flawed character. He is faithful to us, not for our
sakes alone, but for the sake of Jesus who died for us to redeem us.
In the next lessons, we find, however, that God isn't passing over our character, but has
very definite plans to help us clean up our act. Someone once said, "God catches his fish
before he cleans them." Certainly, God has "caught" Jacob. Now let's see what he will do
with him.
9. EBC, “JACOB’S FRAUD
"The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever."- Psa_33:11
THERE are some families whose miserable existence is almost entirely made up of
malicious plottings and counter-plottings, little mischievous designs, and spiteful
triumphs of one member or party in the family over the other. It is not pleasant to have
the veil withdrawn, and to see that where love and eager self-sacrifice might be expected
their places are occupied by an eager assertion of rights, and a cold, proud, and always
petty and stupid, nursing of some supposed injury. In the story told us so graphically in
this page, we see the family whom God has blessed sunk to this low level, and betrayed
by family jealousies into unseemly strife on the most sacred ground. Each member of the
family plans his own wicked device, and God by the evil of one defeats the evil of
another, and saves His own purpose to bless the race from being frittered away and lost.
And it is told us in order that, amidst all this mess of human craft and selfishness, the
righteousness and stability of God’s word of promise may be more vividly seen. Let us
look at the sin of each of the parties in order, and the punishment of each.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews Isaac is commended for his faith in blessing his sons. It
was commendable in him that, in great bodily weakness, he still believed himself to be
the guardian of God’s blessing, and recognised that he had a great inheritance to
bequeath to his sons. But, in unaccountable and inconsistent contempt of God’s
expressed purpose, he proposes to hand over this blessing to Esau. Many things had
occurred to fix his attention upon the fact that Esau was not to be his heir. Esau had sold
his birthright, and had married Hittite women, and his whole conduct was, no doubt, of a
piece with this, and showed that, in his hands, any spiritual inheritance would be both
unsafe and unappreciated. That Isaac had some notion he was doing wrong in giving to

46. Esau what belonged to God, and what God meant to give to Jacob, is shown from his
precipitation in bestowing the blessing. He has no feeling that he is authorized by God,
and therefore he cannot wait calmly till God should intimate, by unmistakable signs, that
he is near his end; but, seized with a panic test his favourite should somehow be left
unblessed, he feels, in his nervous alarm, as if he were at the point of death, and, though
destined to live for forty-three years longer, he calls Esau that he may hand over to him
his dying testament. How different is the nerve of a man when he knows he is doing
God’s will, and when he is but fulfilling his own device. For the same reason, he has to
stimulate his spirit by artificial means. The prophetic ecstasy is not felt by him; he must
be exhilarated by venison and wine, that, strengthened and revived in body, and having
his gratitude aroused afresh towards Esau, he may bless him with all the greater vigour.
The final stimulus is given when he smells the garments of Esau on Jacob, and when that
fresh earthy smell which so revives us in spring, as if our life were renewed with the year,
and which hangs about one who has been in the open air, entered into Isaac’s blood, and
lent him fresh vigour.
It is a strange and, in some respects, perplexing spectacle that is here presented to us-the
organ of the Divine blessing represented by a blind old man, laid on a "couch of skins,"
stimulated by meat and wine, and trying to cheat God by bestowing the family blessing
on the son of his own choice to the exclusion of the divinely-appointed heir. Out of such
beginnings had God to educate a people worthy of Himself, and through such hazards
had He to guide the spiritual blessing He designed to convey to us all.
Isaac laid a net for his own feet. By his unrighteous and timorous haste he secured the
defeat of his own long-cherished scheme. It was his hasting to bless Esau which drove
Rebekah to checkmate him by winning the blessing for her favourite. The shock which
Isaac felt when Esau came in and the fraud was discovered is easily understood. The
mortification of the old man must have been extreme when he found that he had so
completely taken himself in. He was reclining in the satisfied reflection that for once he
had overreached his astute Rebekah and her astute son, and in the comfortable feeling
that, at last, he had accomplished his one remaining desire, when he learns from the
exceeding bitter cry of Esau that he has himself been duped. It was enough to rouse the
anger of the mildest and godliest of men, but Isaac does not storm and protest-"he
trembles exceedingly." He recognises, by a spiritual insight quite unknown to Esau, that
this is God’s hand, and deliberately confirms, with his eyes open, what he had done in
blindness: "I have blessed him: Yea, and he shall be blessed." Had he wished to deny the
validity of the blessing, he had ground enough for doing so. He had not really given it: it
had been stolen from him. An act must be judged by its intention, and he had been far
from intending to bless Jacob. Was he to consider himself bound by what he had done
under a misapprehension? He had given a blessing to one person under the impression
that he was a different person; must not the blessing go to him for whom it was
designed? But Isaac unhesitatingly yielded.
This clear recognition of God’s hand in the matter, and quick submission to Him, reveals
a habit of reflection, and a spiritual thoughtfulness, which are the good qualities in
Isaac’s otherwise unsatisfactory character. Before he finished his answer to Esau, he felt
he was a poor feeble creature in the hand of a true and just God, who had used even his
infirmity and sin to forward righteous and gracious ends. It was his sudden recognition
of the frightful way in which he had been tampering with God’s will, and of the grace
with which God had prevented him from accomplishing a wrong destination of the
inheritance, that made Isaac tremble very exceedingly.
In this humble acceptance of the disappointment of his life’s love and hope, Isaac shows

47. us the manner in which we ought to bear the consequences of our wrong-doing. The
punishment of our sin often comes through the persons with whom we have to do,
unintentionally on their part, and yet we are tempted to hate them because they pain and
punish us, father, mother, wife, child, or whoever else. Isaac and Esau were alike
disappointed. Esau only saw the supplanter, and vowed to be revenged. Isaac saw God in
the matter, and trembled. So when Shimei cursed David, and his loyal retainers would
have cut off his head for so doing, David said, "Let him alone, and let him curse: it may
be that the Lord hath bidden him." We can bear the pain inflicted on us by men when we
see that they are merely the instruments of a divine chastisement. The persons who
thwart us and make our life bitter, the persons who stand between us and our dearest
hopes, the persons whom we are most disposed to speak angrily and bitterly to, are often
thorns planted in our path by God to keep us on the right way.
Isaac’s sin propagated itself with the rapid multiplication of all sin. Rebekah overheard
what passed between Isaac and Esau, and although she might have been able to wait
until by fair means Jacob received the blessing, yet when she sees Isaac actually
preparing to pass Jacob by and bless Esau, her fears are so excited that she cannot any
longer quietly leave the matter in God’s hand, but must lend her own more skilful
management. It may have crossed her mind that she was justified in forwarding what she
knew to be God’s purpose. She saw no other way of saving God’s purpose and Jacob’s
rights than by her interference. The emergency might have unnerved many a woman, but
Rebekah is equal to the occasion. She makes the threatened exclusion of Jacob the very
means for at last finally settling the inheritance upon him. She braves the indignation of
Isaac and the rage of Esau, and fearless herself, and confident of success, she soon quiets
the timorous and cautious objections of Jacob. She knows that for straightforward lying
and acting a part she was sure of good support in Jacob. Luther says, "Had it been me,
I’d have dropped the dish." But Jacob had no such tremors-could submit his hands and
face to the touch of Isaac, and repeat his lie as often as needful.
An old man bedridden like Isaac becomes the subject of a number of little deceptions
which may seem, and which may be, very unimportant in themselves, but which are seen
to wear down the reverence due to the father of a family, and which imperceptibly sap
the guileless sincerity and truthfulness of those who practise them. This overreaching of
Isaac by dressing Jacob in Esau’s clothes, might come in naturally as one of those daily
deceptions which Rebekah was accustomed to practise on the old man whom she kept
quite in her own hand, giving him as much or as little insight into the doings of the
family as seemed advisable to her. It would never occur to her that she was taking God in
hand; it would seem only as if she were making such use of Isaac’s infirmity as she was in
the daily practice of doing.
But to account for an act is not to excuse it. Underlying the conduct of Rebekah and
Jacob was the conviction that they would come better speed by a little deceit of their own
than by suffering God to further them in His own way-that though God would certainly
not practise deception Himself, He might not object to others doing so that in this
emergency holiness was a hampering thing which might just for a little be laid aside that
they might be more holy afterwards-that though no doubt in ordinary circumstances,
and as a normal habit, deceit is not to be commended, yet in cases of difficulty, which call
for ready wit, a prompt seizure, and delicate handling, men must be allowed to secure
their ends in their own way. Their unbelief thus directly produced immorality-
immorality of a very revolting kind, the defrauding of their relatives, and repulsive also
because practised as if on God’s side, or, as we should now say, "in the interests of
religion."

48. To this day the method of Rebekah and Jacob is largely adopted by religious persons. It
is notorious that persons whose ends are good frequently become thoroughly
unscrupulous about the means they use to accomplish them. They dare not say in so
many words that they may do evil that good may come, nor do they think it a tenable
position in morals that the end sanctifies the means; and yet their consciousness of a
justifiable and desirable end undoubtedly does blunt their sensitiveness regarding the
legitimacy of the means they employ. For example, Protestant controversialists,
persuaded that vehement opposition to. Popery is good, and filled with the idea of
accomplishing its downfall, are often guilty of gross misrepresentation, because they do
not sufficiently inform themselves of the actual tenets and practices of the Church of
Rome. In all controversy, religious and political, it is the same. It is always dishonest to
circulate reports that you have no means of authenticating: yet how freely are such
reports circulated to blacken the character of an opponent, and to prove his opinions to
be dangerous. It is always dishonest to condemn opinions we have not inquired into,
merely because of some fancied consequence which these opinions carry in them: yet
how freely are opinions condemned by men who have never been at the trouble carefully
to inquire into their truth. They do not feel the dishonesty of their position, because they
have a general consciousness that they are on the side of religion, and of what has
generally passed for truth. All keeping back of facts which are supposed to have an
unsettling effect is but a repetition of this sin. There is no sin more hateful. Under the
appearance of serving God, and maintaining His cause in the world, it insults Him by
assuming that if the whole bare, undisguised truth were spoken, His cause would suffer.
The fate of all such attempts to manage God’s matters by keeping things dark, and
misrepresenting fact, is written for all who care to understand in the results of this
scheme of Rebekah’s and Jacob’s. They gained nothing, and they lost a great deal, by
their wicked interference. They gained nothing; for God had promised that the birthright
would be Jacob’s, and would have given it him in some way redounding to his credit and
not to his shame. And they lost a great deal. The mother lost her son; Jacob had to flee
for his life, and, for all we know, Rebekah never saw him more. And Jacob lost all the
comforts of home, and all those possessions his father had accumulated. He had to flee
with nothing but his staff, an outcast to begin the world for himself. From this first false
step onwards to his death, he was pursued by misfortune, until his own verdict on his life
was, "Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life."
Thus severely was, the sin of Rebekah and Jacob punished. It coloured their whole
afterlife with a deep sombre hue. It was marked thus, because it was a sin by all means to
be avoided. It was virtually the sin of blaming God for forgetting His promise, or of
accusing Him of being unable to perform it: so that they, Rebekah and Jacob, had,
forsooth, to take God’s work out of His hands, and show Him how it ought to be done.
The announcement of God’s purpose, instead of enabling them quietly to wait for a
blessing they knew to be certain, became in their unrighteous and impatient hearts
actually an inducement to sin. Abraham was so bold and confident in his faith, at least
latterly, that again and again he refused to take as a gift from men, and on the most
honourable terms, what God had promised to give him: his grandson is so little sure of
God’s truth, that he will rather trust his own falsehood; and what he thinks God may
forget to give him, he will steal from his own father. Some persons have especial need to
consider this sin-they are tempted to play the part of Providence, to intermeddle where
they ought to refrain. Sometimes just a little thing is needed to make everything go to our
liking-the keeping back of one small fact, a slight variation in the way of stating the
matter, is enough-thine’s want just a little push in the right direction: it is wrong, but
very slightly so. And so they are encouraged to close for a moment their eyes and put to

49. their hand.
Of all the parties in this transaction none is more to blame than Esau. He shows now
how selfish and untruthful the sensual man really is, and how worthless is the generosity
which is merely of impulse and not bottomed on principle. While he so furiously and
bitterly blamed Jacob for supplanting him, it might surely have occurred to him that it
was really he who was supplanting Jacob. He had no right, divine or human, to the
inheritance. God had never said that His possession should go to the oldest, and had in
this case said the express opposite. Besides, inconstant as Esau was, he could scarcely
have forgotten the bargain that so pleased him at the time, and by which he had sold to
his younger brother all title to his father’s blessings.
Jacob was to blame for seeking to win his own by craft, but Esau was more to blame for
endeavouring furtively to recover what he knew to be no longer his. His bitter cry was the
cry of a disappointed and enraged child, what Hosea calls the "howl" of those who seem
to seek the Lord, but are really merely crying out, like animals, for corn and wine. Many
that care very little for God’s love will seek His favours; and every wicked wretch who has
in his prosperity spurned God’s offers will, when he sees how he has cheated himself,
turn to God’s gifts, though not to God, with a cry. Esau would now very gladly have given
a mess of pottage for the blessing that secured to its receiver "the dew of heaven, the
fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine." Like many another sinner, he wanted
both to eat his cake and have it. He wanted to spend his youth sowing to the flesh, and
have the harvest which those only can have who have sown to the spirit. He wished both
of two irreconcilable things-both the red pottage and the birthright. He is a type of those
who think very lightly of spiritual blessings. while their appetites are strong, but
afterwards bitterly complain that their whole life is filled with the results of sowing to the
flesh and not to the spirit.
"We barter life for pottage; sell true bliss
For wealth or power, for pleasure or renown;
Thus Esau-like, our Father’s blessing miss,
Then wash with fruitless tears our laded crown."
The words of the New Testament, in which it is said that Esau "found no place for
repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears," are sometimes misunderstood.
They do not mean that he sought what we ordinarily call repentance, a change of mind
about the value of the birthright. He had that; it was this that made him weep. What he
sought now was some means of undoing what he had done, of cancelling the deed of
which he repented. His experience does not tell us that a man once sinning as Esau
sinned becomes a hardened reprobate whom no good influence can impress or bring to
repentance, but it says that the sin so committed leaves irreparable consequences-that
no man can live a youth of folly and yet find as much in manhood and maturer years as if
he had lived a careful and God-fearing youth. Esau had irrecoverably lost that which he
would now have given all he had to possess; and in this, I suppose, he represents half the
men who pass through this world. He warns us that it is very possible, by careless
yielding to appetite and passing whim, to entangle ourselves irrecoverably for this life, if
not to weaken and maim ourselves for eternity. At the time, your act may seem a very
small and secular one, a mere bargain in the ordinary course, a little transaction such as
one would enter into carelessly after the day’s work is over, in the quiet of a summer
evening or in the midst of the family circle: or it may seem so necessary that you never
think of its moral qualities, as little as you question whether you are justified in
breathing; but you are warned that if there be in that act a crushing out of spiritual hopes

50. to make way for the free enjoyment of the pleasures of sense-if there be a deliberate
preference of the good things of this life to the love of God-if, knowingly, you make light
of spiritual blessings, and count them unreal when weighed against obvious worldly
advantages-then the consequences of that act will in this life bring to you great
discomfort and uneasiness, great loss and vexation, an agony of remorse, and a life-long
repentance. You are warned of this, and most touchingly, by the moving entreaties, the
bitter cries and tears of Esau.
But even when our life is spoiled irreparably, a hope remains for our character and
ourselves-not certainly if our misfortunes embitter us, not if resentment is the chief
result of our suffering; but if, subduing resentment, and taking blame to ourselves
instead of trying to fix it on others, we take revenge upon the real source of our undoing,
and extirpate from our own character the root of bitterness. Painful and difficult is such
schooling. It calls for simplicity, and humility, and truthfulness-qualities not of frequent
occurrence. It calls for abiding patience; for he who begins thus to sow to the spirit late
in life must be content with inward fruits, with peace of conscience, increase of
righteousness and humility, and must learn to live without much of what all men
naturally desire.
While each member of Isaac’s family has thus his own plan, and is striving to fulfil his
private intention, the result is, that God’s purpose is fulfilled. In the human agency, such
faith in God as existed was overlaid with misunderstanding and distrust of God. But
notwithstanding the petty and mean devices, the short-sighted slyness, the blundering
unbelief, the profane worldliness of the human parties in the transaction, the truth and
mercy of God still find a way for themselves. Were matters left in our hands, we should
make shipwreck even of the salvation with which we are provided. We carry into our
dealings with it the same selfishness, and inconstancy, and worldliness which made it
necessary: and had not God patience to bear with, as well as mercy to invite us; had He
not wisdom to govern us in the use of His grace, as well as wisdom to contrive its first
bestowal, we should perish with the water of life at our lips.
11
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother
Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin.
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 11. Esau my brother is a hairy man.] This Rebekah thought
not of. Plus vident oculi, quam oculus. Two is better than one; but woe be to him
that is alone. We want much of our strength, in the want of a faithful friend, who
might be our monitor. Whence David so bemoans the loss of his Jonathan; and St

51. Paul counted it a special mercy to him, that Epaphroditus recovered. [Philippians
2:25-27] This the heathen persecutors knew, and therefore banished the Christians,
and confined them to isles and mines, where they could not have access one to
another. (a) Dr Taylor rejoiced that ever he came into prison, there to be acquainted
with that angel of God - so he calls him - John Bradford. While Ridley and Latimer
lived, they kept up Cranmer from entertaining counsels of revolt. It was not for
nothing, surely, that our Saviour sent forth his disciples by two and two. He knew,
by experience, that Satan is readiest to assault when none is by to assist. Aaron may
be for a mouth to Moses, Moses for a God to Aaron. [Exodus 4:16]
2. HAWKER, “Is not this a very apt similitude of Him, who assumed our likeness, the
likeness, as the apostle terms it, of sinful flesh; and was made sin for us, though he knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him? Rom_8:3-4; 2Co_5:21.
Reader! if you seek a blessing from God your Father, so must you be clothed, in the
garment of Jesus, who is indeed our elder brother, and the first born among many
brethren.
3. Gill, “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,.... Being timorous lest he should
do an ill thing, and be accounted a deceiver, and bring a curse upon himself:
behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man; covered all over with hair; as with a hairy
garment; so he was born, and so he continued, and no doubt his hair increased,
Gen_25:25,
and I am a smooth man: without hair, excepting in those parts where it is common
for all men to have it.
4. Henry, “
5. Jamison, “Jacob said, Esau my brother is a hairy man — It is remarkable that
his scruples were founded, not on the evil of the act, but on the risk and consequences of
deception.
6. Calvin, “And Jacob said to Rebekah. That Jacob does not voluntarily present
himself to his father, but rather fears lest, his imposture being detected, he should
bring a curse upon himself, is very contrary to faith. (43) For when the Apostle
teaches, that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” (Romans 14:23,) he trains the sons of
God to this sobriety, that they may not permit themselves to undertake anything
with a doubtful and perplexed conscience. This firm persuasion is the only rule of
right conduct, when we, relying on the command of God, go intrepidly wheresoever
he calls us. Jacob, therefore, by debating with himself, shows that he was deficient in
faith; and certainly, although he was not entirely without it, yet, in this point, he is
convicted of failure. But by this example we are again taught, that faith is not
always extinguished by a given fault; yet, if God sometimes bears with his servants
thus far, that he turns, what they have done perversely, to their salvation, we must
not hence take a license to sin. It happened by the wonderful mercy of God, that

52. Jacob was not cut off from the grace of adoption. Who would not rather fear than
become presumptuous? And whereas we see that his faith was obscured by
doubting, let us learn to ask of the Lord the spirit of prudence to govern all our
steps. There was added another error of no light kind: for why does he not rather
reverence God than dread his father’s anger? Why does it not rather occur to his
mind, that a foul blot would stain the hallowed adoption of God, when it seemed to
owe its accomplishment to a lie? For although it tended to a right end, it was not
lawful to attain that end, through this oblique course. Meanwhile, there is no doubt
that faith prevailed over these impediments. For what was the cause why he
preferred the bare and apparently empty benediction of his father, (44) to the quiet
which he then enjoyed, to the conveniences of home, and finally to life itself?
According to the flesh, the father’s benediction, of which he was so desirous, that he
knowingly and willingly plunged himself into great difficulties, was but an
imaginary thing. Why did he act thus, but because in the exercise of simple faith in
the word of God, he more highly valued the hope which was hidden from him, shall
the desirable condition which he actually enjoyed? Besides, his fear of his father’s
anger had its origin in the true fear of God. He says that he feared lest he should
bring upon himself a curse. But he would not so greatly have dreaded a verbal
censure, if he had not deemed the grace deposited in the hands of his father worth
more than a thousand lives. It was therefore under an impulse of God that he feared
his father, who was really God’s minister. For when the Lord sees us creeping on
the earth, he draws us to himself by the hand of man.
12
What if my father touches me? I would appear to be
tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself
rather than a blessing."
Jacob knew he was tricking his father and that there was risk involved. It was
not an innocent plan, but a plot to deliberately deceive dad.
While Isaac was trying to thwart God's plan, Rebekah was trying to help
accomplish God's plan. Unfortunately, even with opposite motivations, they both
committed the same sin.
Rebekah knew what God had told her, but now she's seeing that God is about to be
"tricked" - that His will and His intention won't happen. "I'd better help God out",
she thinks. So she tried to get God's work done in the flesh.

53. This is very much like the sin of Abraham, when he tried to accomplish God's
promise in the flesh. God had promised descendants to Abraham, but since Sarah
seemed too old, he listened to his wife and took Hagar as a surrogate mother. God
had also promised the birthright and the blessing to Jacob (Gen 25:23), but since it
looked like Esau was going to get it, he listened to his mother and dressed up like
Esau.
This is the kind of nonsense and incompetence that results when we stop relying on
Providence. When we walk by sight, and not by faith, we always take a wrong turn.
I see a real immaturity in Jacob at this point as well. He's 40 years old, but like a
child, his only concern is not whether it's the right thing to do, but whether or not
he'll get caught.
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 12. My father peradventure will feel me.] Our heavenly
Father will certainly feel us, and better feel us; and we shall feel him too, in his
fatherly corrections, before he bless us. Suffer we must, or ere we reign: no coming
to the crown, but by the cross. Christ himself was "perfected by sufferings";
[Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:9] and we must be "conformed to his image". [Romans
8:29] When Ignatius came to the wild beasts, ow, saith he, I begin to be a
Christian. Qui non eat Crucianus, non est Christianus, saith Luther, on the 29th of
Genesis: and in another place, I have no stronger argument, saith he, against the
Pope’s kingdom, than this, that he reigneth without the cross.
And I shall seem to him as a deceiver.] So shall all complimenting hypocrites to God,
that pretend his service to their wicked or worldly ends and aims. They think,
belike, to deceive him; (a) but therein they are fairly deceived, for he searcheth the
hearts; and bring a curse, instead of a blessing, upon themselves and their posterity.
"The hypocrite in heart heaps up wrath". [Job 36:13] emo enim magis; ram
meretur, saith a father, {b} quam amicum simulans inimicus . Where shall we read
of a hypocrite received to mercy?
2. Clarke, “I shall bring a curse upon me - For even in those early times the spirit of
that law was understood, Deu_27:18 : Cursed is he that maketh the blind to wander out
of the way; and Jacob seems to have possessed at this time a more tender conscience
than his mother.
3. Gill, “My father peradventure will feel me,.... For, though he could not see him,
and so discern whether he had any hair or no on him, yet, suspecting him by his voice, he
might call him to him to feel him, as he did; for Jacob understood his mother right, that
he was to represent his brother Esau in the transaction of this affair:
and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; one that imposes upon another and causes
him to err, leads him to say or do wrong things: and not only appear as one, but be really
one, and even a very great one, as the doubling of the radical letters in the word shows;
yea, the worst of deceivers, a deceiver of a parent, of one that was both aged and blind:
and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing; and he might justly fear,

54. that should he be found out, it would so provoke his father, that instead of blessing him,
he would curse him, see Deu_27:18.
4. God has to work through poor tools and use evil to achieve his purpose because
that is all there is to work with. These are the best, and so the rest are even more evil
and foolish. God has no choice but to bring good out of evil because there is not
enough good to start with, and so he needs to use evil to bring forth good. All of the
people God used to develop his people as the 12 tribes of Israel were full of flaws.
5. STEVE COLE
Frank Sinatra’s well-known song, “I Did It My Way,” was
shocking for its blatant ungodliness. Of course what Sinatra stated
plainly in that song, “I did it my way,” is true of every person who
does not submit his life to Jesus Christ. Most people just aren’t as
open as Sinatra in stating the controlling force of their lives.
In Genesis 27, four people sing Sinatra’s song. Isaac does
things his way by trying to bestow the family blessing on Esau, in
opposition to God’s revealed will. Esau tries to take back what he
had already sold to his brother Jacob. When he is foiled, he plans
to kill his brother. Rebekah deceives her aging husband into giving
the blessing to her favorite son, Jacob. And Jacob lies to his father
and outsmarts his brother. Rebekah and Jacob could argue that
they were only trying to bring about the will of God, since God
had told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger. But
I’m not persuaded by those who attribute high motives to Rebekah
and Jacob. I think that what you have here are four self-centered
people seeking their own advantage. They all did it their way, not
God’s way. In the end they all came up empty and paid a high price
for their selfishness.
6. PI K How the character of Jacob comes out here! He reveals his native shrewdness
and foresight, but instead of shrinking back in horror from the sin, he appears to have
been occupied only with what might prove its unpleasant consequences. "And his mother
said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
And he went and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory
meat, such as his father loved. 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: And she put
the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And
she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son
Jacob" (vv. 13-17). It is difficult to say who was most to blame, Jacob or his mother.
Rebekah was the one to whom God had directly made known His purpose respecting her
two sons, and, be it noted, the wife of Isaac was no heathen but, instead, one who knew
the Lord—cf. "She went to inquire of the Lord" (Gen. 25:22). Her course was plain: she
should have trusted the Lord to bring to nought the carnal design of Isaac, but she took
the way of the flesh, plotted against her husband, and taught her son to deceive his father.
Yet in condemning Rebekah we are reminded of Romans 2:1, "Therefore thou are
inexcusable O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another,

55. thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."
7. PINK, “How the character of Jacob comes out here! He reveals his native shrewdness
and foresight, but instead of shrinking back in horror from the sin, he appears to have
been occupied only with what might prove its unpleasant consequences. "And his mother
said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
And he went and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory
meat, such as his father loved. 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: And she put
the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And
she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son
Jacob" (vv. 13-17). It is difficult to say who was most to blame, Jacob or his mother.
Rebekah was the one to whom God had directly made known His purpose respecting her
two sons, and, be it noted, the wife of Isaac was no heathen but, instead, one who knew
the Lord—cf. "She went to inquire of the Lord" (Gen. 25:22). Her course was plain: she
should have trusted the Lord to bring to nought the carnal design of Isaac, but she took
the way of the flesh, plotted against her husband, and taught her son to deceive his father.
Yet in condemning Rebekah we are reminded of Romans 2:1, "Therefore thou are
inexcusable O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another,
thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."
We refrain from quoting at length the verses that follow. Jacob complies with his
mother’s suggestion, and adds sin to sin. First he impersonates his brother, tells lies to his
father, and ends by going the awful length of bringing in the name of the Lord God (v.
20). To what fearful lengths will sin quickly lead us once we take the first wrong step! A
similar progression in evil is seen (by way of implication) in Psalm 1:1: the one who
"walks" in the consul of the ungodly will soon be found "standing" in the way of sinners,
and then it will not be long ere he is discovered "sitting" in the seat of the scornful.
At first suspicious, Isaac’s fears were allayed by his son’s duplicity, and the blessing was
given, "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: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of corn and wine: 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" (vv. 27-29). It is to be noted that
the "blessing" which Jacob here receives from the lips of his father was far below the
blessed string of promises which he received directly from God when wholly cast upon
His grace (see Genesis 28:13-15).
8. RON THOMAS
We can see here that Jacob is not operating on principle. No where does he say, "This is
not right. This is deceit. We are not to bear a false witness. I would have to lie to my
father. Have you sought the Lord about this action?" Willingly, Jacob becomes part of a
conspiracy and lies to his father more than once.

56. We are never to operate by expediency, what the situation seems to demand; we are never
to be driven by urgency, acting solely on the basis of time, the pressure of some deadline;
we are never to decide upon what others in authority expect of us; but by principle, what
is right according to the Word of God. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. The
criteria for our decisions and conduct is what is right in God's eyes. We are to be a people
of principal. It is never right to do wrong.
Jacob attempts to back up and brace up his unprincipled behavior by including God.
Notice verses 19-20. "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. 20 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." It is so easy to call
our will, God's will. We push others away by including the name of God to cover our
actions!
13
His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on
me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me."
Rebekah did not take the curse seriously, either because she did not believe in
curses, or because she was really willing to be cursed for the sake of her boy
getting the blessing.
This is not a pretty picture. We have a very dysfunctional family here, and one
full of jealousy and deceit. When a son is actually encouraged to lie and deceive
his father by his mother, you have a civil war going on. Obedience to parents is
commanded by God, but this is not to be so when the parent asks you to do what
is wrong and contrary to the will of God.
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 13. Upon me be thy curse, my son.] A bold speech: but
she respected the promise by faith; she relied on that oracle, [Genesis 25:23]
which Isaac might misinterpret, understanding it not of the persons of his
sons, but of their posterity. Bernardus non vidit omnia. Isaac was not more
blind in his eyes than in his affection to his firstborn; and that might mislead
him. But Rebekah saw further than he, and therefore made this bold
adventure, not without some mixture of infirmity, to procure Jacob the
blessing, against her husband’s will and intention. A wife is not to perform
such blind obedience to her husband as Plutarch (a) prescribeth, when he
layeth it as a law of wedlock on the wife to acknowledge and worship the
same gods, and none else, but those whom her husband honours and reputes
for gods. Be men pleased or displeased, God must not be displeased.

57. 2. Clarke, “Upon me be thy curse, my son - Onkelos gives this a curious turn: It has
been revealed to me by prophecy that the curses will not come upon thee, my son. What
a dreadful responsibility did this woman take upon her at this time! The sacred writer
states the facts as they were, and we may depend on the truth of the statement; but he
nowhere says that God would have any man to copy this conduct. He often relates facts
and sayings which he never recommends.
3. Gill, “And his mother said unto him, upon me be thy curse, my son,.... That
is, if thy father should curse thee, which I am well assured he will not, let the curse, be
what it will, fall upon me, and not on thee; I shall bear the blame and the punishment:
this she said in the strong faith of the divine oracle, being fully persuaded her scheme
would succeed, and that Jacob would have the blessing, and therefore she feared no
curse falling upon her or her son; and this she said to encourage him: the Targum of
Onkelos is,"to me it has been said in prophecy, that the curses shall not come upon thee,
my son:"
only obey my voice, and go fetch me them; the two fat kids of the goats from the
flock.
4. Jamison, “and his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse — His
conscience being soothed by his mother, preparations were hastily made for carrying out
the device; consisting, first, of a kid’s flesh, which, made into a ragout, spiced with salt,
onions, garlic, and lemon juice, might easily be passed off on a blind old man, with
blunted senses, as game; second, of pieces of goat’s skin bound on his hands and neck, its
soft silken hair resembling that on the cheek of a young man; third, of the long white
robe - the vestment of the first-born, which, transmitted from father to son and kept in a
chest among fragrant herbs and perfumed flowers used much in the East to keep away
moths - his mother provided for him.
5. Calvin, “Upon me be thy curse, my son. Here Rebekah sins again, because she
burns with such hasty zeal that she does not consider how highly God disapproves of
her evil course. She presumptuously subjects herself to the curse. But whence this
unheeding confidence? Being unfurnished with any divine command, she took her
own counsel. Yet no one will deny that this zeal, although preposterous, proceeds
from special reverence for the word of God. For since she was informed by the oracle
of God, that Jacob was preferred in the sight of God, she disregarded whatever was
visible in the world, and whatever the sense of nature dictated, in comparison with
God’s secret election. Therefore we are taught by this example, that every one should
walk modestly and cautiously according to the rule of his vocation; and should not
dare to proceed beyond what the Lord allows in his word.
6. BI, "Upon me be thy curse, my son

58. Rebekah’s imposition on Isaac considered
This language plainly shows that she thought her conduct justifiable, and thus we have a
melancholy instance of the way in which good people sometimes deceive themselves, and
suffer their judgments to be misled by carnal reasonings, and the counsels of the natural
heart.
I. The OBJECT which she had in view. She wished the blessing to go, not to Esau the
first-born, but to Jacob, her younger son. And what, may we ask, was the reason of this
preference? Did she love Jacob best? It is probable that she did. But Rebekah might have
another motive for wishing that the blessing should be given to Jacob. She knew that he
was fittest for receiving it. She knew that he highly valued it, not merely for the sake of
any worldly benefit annexed to it, but on account of the spiritual promises contained in
it. Esau, on the contrary, had repeatedly shown the greatest contempt for the blessing
and its promises. But even this reason, however sufficient it might have been, was not,
we may conjecture, the chief motive by which Rebekah’s mind was influenced. She had a
still stronger reason for wishing to defeat her husband’s purpose. She felt assured that in
this design he was opposing the will and purpose of the Almighty. Her desire, then, was
good, and her attempt praiseworthy. The end which she proposed to herself was to
prevent her husband from acting contrary to the divine will, and to assist in turning the
blessing where God intended it should go. So far, then, as the object which she had in
view was concerned, far from finding any thing to blame, we see much to commend. It
sprang from her faith and piety, and showed her zeal for the glory of God. Let us
consider.
II. The MEANS which she used for attaining this object. Here we are forced to withhold
our commendation; nay, we must go farther, we must positively condemn her conduct,
and declare it to have been utterly without excuse. We say nothing of the probability
which there was of a discovery, and of the dangerous consequences which might have
followed. Admitting that a discovery was very unlikely to take place; admitting that her
plan was most wisely laid, with every prospect of success; yet of what kind was her
wisdom? Was it that wisdom “ which is from above, and which is first pure, and then
peaceable, full of good fruits, and without hypocrisy”? Or rather, was it not that wisdom”
which descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish”? (Jas_3:15;
Jas_3:17.) Was it that wisdom whichour Lord prescribes when he says, “Be ye wise as
serpents, and harmless as doves”? Or rather, was it not the crooked policy of the old
Serpent, who is a liar and the father of lies? Rebekah, indeed, could not but know that to
impose on her husband by means of his infirmity, and to tempt her son to the
commission of falsehood and deception, were acts which in themselves were highly
sinful. What may we suppose, then, were the arguments by which she would probably
defend and even justify her conduct? She would say to herself, “I am placed in very
extraordinary circumstances. Here is Isaac about to act in direct opposition to the Divine
Will. Here is the blessing, which God has designed for Jacob, on the point of being given
to Esau. Is it not my duty to prevent the purposes of the Almighty from being defeated?
Though the means to which I may have recourse are such as on a common occasion
might not be lawfully used, yet does not the necessity of the present case allow and even
require me to use them?” But how vain and false would such reasoning be! What
permission had Rebekah received “to do evil, that good might come”? Her duty was to be
learned, not from the purposes, but from the precepts of the Almighty. Did she suppose
that God could not complete His designs without her committing sin in order to fulfil
them? Or, did she think that sin would not be sin, because she dressed it in this specious

59. covering? In all cases the Law of God is to be our rule. In no case can we claim the
privilege of setting it aside. Rebekah’s sin, however she might excuse it to herself, was
sufficient to have ruined her soul; and unquestionably, unless through God’s grace she
had afterwards repented and obtained forgiveness, it would have ruined her soul. Such is
the case with every sin. Whatever good may come of the evil which we do, that good will
not excuse the evil, nor make it less. But it may be further said, “Rebekah’s plan
succeeded. Jacob, by his deception, obtained the blessing; and thus God, by making the
means successful, showed that He approved them.” It is true that God permitted
Rebekah’s plan to be successful; but it does not therefore follow that He approved it.
Indeed, it is utterly impossible that He could approve falsehood in any shape or in any
case. He permitted it to be practised, and He overruled it for the fulfilling of His own
purposes; but this is a very different thing from approving it. Nay, if we attentively
examine the whole matter, in all its effects and consequences, we shall discover clear
marks of God’s displeasure against both her and Jacob for their parts in this transaction.
Sin ever brings along with it shame and sorrow, and those who permit themselves to do
evil that good may come will surely in the end deplore their worldly wisdom and
presumptuous conduct. It may yet, however, be further asked, “What ought Rebekah to
have done? Was she, knowingly, to have let her husband act contrary to the Divine
intentions, without endeavouring to prevent him? Was she to have taken no steps in
order to have procured the blessing for Jacob? “I answer, there were means which she
might lawfully have used for the attainment of her end; and to these she ought to have
confined herself. She should have reasoned the mutter with Isaac. She should meekly
have pointed out to him the mistake which he was on the point of committing. She
should have reminded him of the revelation which God had given of His will in this
affair; and thus, by persuasion and argument, she should have endeavoured to turn him
from his purpose. There is reason to think that such a conduct would probably have
succeeded. Isaac, when he afterwards discovered what had been done, appears to have
suddenly recollected himself; and, shuddering at the danger from which he had escaped,
in a very striking manner, confirmed the blessing to Jacob: “Yea and he shall be blessed.”
It is, therefore, likely that he would before have yielded to a mild remonstrance,
affectionately urged. At any rate, Rebekah should have added also to it strong faith and
fervent prayer. These are the weapons of our warfare. (E. Cooper, M. A.)
7. Influence of woman
Samuel Morley’s mother was a woman of rare piety. He was wont to say concerning her,
“I am much what my mother has made me.”
Lessons
1. Faith pursueth God’s oracle through the worst of difficulties and fears.
2. Fleshly passion may mix with faith in its strongest operations.
3. Affection may make mothers adventure to bear a curse for their sons.
4. Natural affection may be instant to have things done irregularly upon a ground of
faith. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
8. RAY PRITCHARD

60. Rebekah in Charge When he says, "But a curse will come upon me if I am caught,"
Rebekah replies in the words of mothers throughout history, "Just do what I say." Clearly
Rebekah is the dominant leader in this family. I would summarize her personality with
these four words:
Strong
Resourceful
Decisive
Cunning
She is the prime mover in this story and, it seems, in the family as well. It appears that
Isaac has abdicated his position of spiritual leadership in favor of his wife.
Who thought of the deception? Rebekah.
Who said, "Go get the food"? Rebekah.
Who said, "Put on this goatskin"? Rebekah.
Who said, "Let the blame fall on me"? Rebekah.
Who said, "Leave home till Esau cools off"? Rebekah.
At every point she is in charge. She always has an answer for every question and a
solution for every problem.
One question. If this was so brazenly wrong, why did Jacob do it?
1. Because he was under pressure from his mother.
2. Because he wanted the blessing so badly.
3. Because he believed the end justified the means.
4. Because he didn't respect his father sufficiently.
I think Jacob said to himself, "God wants me to have the blessing, so if I have to cheat a
little bit to get it, that's all right. God will understand." Jacob is half right. God did want
him to have the blessing. And God did understand what he was doing. But that didn't
make it right.
14
So he went and got them and brought them to his
mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the
way his father liked it.
Here is another story of fast food where it had to happen fast to pull of this plot

61. to get the blessing before Esau gets back. It was fast food to the rescue. Abraham
and Sarah made food fast to entertain God, but here it was to do wrong. Adam
and Eve wanted fast food too and just grabbed the apple and ate not considering
the consequences.
1. Barnes, “Verse 14-29
The plan is successful. Jacob now, without further objection, obeys his mother. She
clothes him in Esau’s raiment, and puts the skins of the kids on his hands and his neck.
The camel-goat affords a hair which bears a great resemblance to that of natural growth,
and is used as a substitute for it. Now begins the strange interview between the father
and the son. “Who art thou, my son?” The voice of Jacob was somewhat constrained. He
goes, however, deliberately through the process of deceiving his father. “Arise, now, sit
and eat.” Isaac was reclining on his couch, in the feebleness of advancing years. Sitting
was the posture convenient for eating. “The Lord thy God prospered me.” This is the bold
reply to Isaac’s expression of surprise at the haste with which the dainty fare had been
prepared. The bewildered father now puts Jacob to a severer test. He feels him, but
discerns him not. The ear notes a difference, but the hand feels the hairy skin resembling
Esau’s; the eyes give no testimony. After this the result is summarily stated in a single
sentence, though the particulars are yet to be given. “Art thou my very son Esau?” A
lurking doubt puts the definite question, and receives a decisive answer. Isaac then calls
for the repast and partakes.
2. Gill, “And he went and fetched and brought them to his mother,.... Being
satisfied with what his mother had said, he went to the field where the flock was, and
took out of it two young kids, and brought them to his mother; and thus far he did right
to obey her commands:
and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved; by picking out
proper pieces, and seasoning them well, it was as grateful to him as if it had really been
venison, such as he loved.
3. Calvin, “.And he went and fetched. Although it is probable that Jacob was not
only influenced by a desire to yield obedience to the authority of his mother, but was
also persuaded by her seasonings, he yet sinned by overstepping the bounds of his
vocation. When Rebekah had taken the blame upon herself, she told him, doubtless,
that injury was done to no one: because Jacob was not stealing away another’s right,
but only seeking the blessing which was decreed to him by the celestial oracle. It
seemed a fair and probable excuse for the fraud, that Isaac, unless he should be
imposed upon, was prepared to invalidate the election of God. Therefore Jacob,
instead of simply declining from what was right in submission to his mother, was
rather obeying the word of God. In the meantime (as I have said) this particular error
was not free from blame: because the truth of God was not to be aided by such
falsehoods. The paternal benediction was a seal of God’s grace, I confess it; but she
ought rather to have waited till God should bring relief from heaven, by changing the
mind and guiding the tongue of Isaac, than have attempted what was unlawful. For

62. if Balaam, who prostituted his venal tongue, was constrained by the Spirit, contrary
to his own wish, to bless the elect people, whom he would rather have devoted to
destruction, (Numbers 22:12,) how much more powerfully would the same spirit have
influenced the tongue of holy Isaac, who was not a mercenary man, but one who
desired faithfully to obey God, and was only hurried by an error in a contrary
direction? Therefore, although in the main, faith shone preeminently in holy Jacob,
yet in this respect he bears the blame of rashness, in that he was distrustful of the
providence of God, and fraudulently gained possession of his father’s blessing.
4. BI, "And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother
Rebekah’s cunning plot accepted and carried out by Jacob
I. REVEALS SOME QUALITIES OF JACOB’S CHARACTER.
1. He was a weak and pliable man.
2. He lacked the power of self-determination.
3. He was fearful of consequences.
4. He could long indulge the thought of that which was forbidden.
II. REVEALS THE GRADUAL DEBASEMENT OF JACOB’S CHARACTER.
1. He overcomes difficulties in the way of sin.
2. He learns to act a falsehood.
3. He proceeds to the direct falsehood.
4. He allows himself to be led into sin under the idea that he is carrying out the
purpose of God. (T. H. Leale.)
The stolen blessing
I. THE TEMPTATION ORIGINATED IN A SENSUOUS REQUEST OF ISAAC.
II. THIS TEMPTATION WAS PRESENTED TO JACOB THROUGH THE
UNSCRUPULOUS LOVE OF REBEKAH. We cannot but admire her love. But it was not
based upon principle.
III. THIS TEMPTATION WAS GREEDILY RESPONDED TO BY THE WEAK AND
CRAFTY NATURE OF JACOB. (F. B. Meyer, B.A.)
Sharp practice
I. JACOB’S CONDUCT UNFOLDS THE STRENGTH OF EARLY PREFERENCES.
II. JACOB’S CONDUCT SHOWS PROGRESS IN A WRONG DIRECTION.
III. JACOB’S CONDUCT LETS US SEE SOME OF THE INFLUENCES WHICH IMPEL
MEN TO GREATER EVIL.
1. One is that of relationship.

63. 2. Another influence worked in the man himself. Jacob had a vehement craving for
the blessing.
IV. JACOB’S CONDUCT PROVES THAT THERE MAY BE MORE RELIGION ON THE
LIPS THAN IN THE LIFE (Gen_27:20). (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
The supplanter
I. THE POWER OF PARENTAL INFLUENCE AND THE DANGER OF PARENTAL
PARTIALITY.
II. THE PROGRESS OF MORAL DETERIORATION. This is seen—
1. In Isaac.
2. In Rebekah.
3. In Esau.
4. Especially in Jacob.
Lessons:
1. That mere fondness is not affection.
2. To beware of encouraging or countenancing the appearance of untruth.
3. That no righteous purpose can justify an unrighteous act.
4. To avoid the beginning, “the very appearance of evil.”
5. To beware what thoughts we cherish.
6. Success does not avert the moral consequences of wrong-doing. (A. F.Joscelyne,
B. A.)
The blessing fraudulently obtained
I. THE SPIRIT OF DOUBT AND MISTRUST LEADS MEN TO PRACTICE DECEIT.
1. It was deceiving a relative.
2. Deceiving an infirm relative.
3. Deceiving an infirm relative in spiritual matters.
II. IT DEADENS MEN’S MORAL SENSIBILITIES.
1. It creates indifference to man’s moral culture.
2. It renders one insensible to the greatest danger.
III. IT INVOLVES PAIN.
1. Loss of peace.
2. Instability.
3. Humiliation. (Homilist.)

64. The blessing obtained by fraud
1. Many of the most serious evils in life must be traced to parental mismanagement.
2. No end, however good, will sanction bad ways of accomplishing it.
3. Our history illustrates the prolific nature of sin. The commission of one crime
makes another necessary, in order to supply what is lacking in the first.
4. The sins of youth have often a long and lasting influence. (A. McClelland, D. D.)
Duplicity
I. THE CONSPIRACY.
1. Its nature.
2. Its cause.
(1) Precariousness of Isaac’s life.
(2) Rebekah’s fear that patriarchal blessing would be bestowed on Esau, though
God had declared that it should be given to Jacob.
(3) The nature and importance of the patriarchal blessing.
II. THE DISCOVERY.
1. Its suddenness.
2. Its effect. Practical lessons:
1. That sad consequences ever follow the practice of duplicity, whether in the family
or elsewhere.
2. That a mother should teach a son to deceive his father is full of warning.
3. That such wrong should be perpetrated in the name and for the promotion of
religion suggests the importance of scrutinizing our motives.
4. That the consciences of pious persons should allow them to justify themselves in
such conduct suggests the blinding power of unbelief that God will fulfil what He has
promised. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
The sin of Isaac and his family
I. Look at ISAAC.
1. His sin lay in aiming at a wrong object—he wanted to set aside the will of God.
2. Mark the punishment of Isaac. It was two-fold. First, his object was defeated—
Esau lost the blessing. And man will always be defeated when man struggles with his
Maker. He vindicates His authority in an unexpected moment and by unexpected
means, and then where and what are we? Our schemes, and efforts, and hopes, are
all laid low; and worse than this—they are all turned against ourselves. And so was it
here; for notice another part of Isaac’s punishment—not only was his object defeated,
but in aiming at it, he brought much sin on his family and much anguish on himself.
II. We may turn now to REBEKAH.

65. 1. Her sin was altogether different in its character from Isaac’s. It consisted in aiming
at a right object by sinful means.
2. The punishment of Rebekah may appear slight, and yet to a fond mother like her,
it must have been deeply painful. The curse was indeed on her, and it came in a form
she little anticipated—she lost the son for whom she had plotted and sinned. Her
example speaks plainly and solemnly also to all who are parents amongst us. It tells
us that children are easily led into sin. Deceit and falsehood are bound up in the
heart of every child that breathes, and it is as easy to call them into action as to get
their tongues to speak or their feet to move. It is easy also to find motives that seem
good, for prompting the lie, or sanctioning the lie, or concealing the lie; but as surely
as there is a God living in heaven, the evil we prompt or encourage or tolerate in our
children will come down in the end on our own heads. The curse of it will be on us.
The blow may at first strike others, but in the end it will recoil on ourselves. Our poor
children may themselves sting us to the quick; or if not so, the hand of God may be
on them. We may see in their undoing at once our own punishment and our own sin.
III. Let us turn now to JACOB. The instant we look at him, we are struck with this fact,
that the nearer a man is to God, the more God is displeased with any iniquity He sees in
him, and the more openly and severely He punishes it. Of all this family, Jacob was the
most beloved by Him, but yet, as far as regards this world, he appears to have suffered
from this transaction the most bitterly.
1. His sin was of a complicated character. To a hasty observer, it might appear light.
Certainly much might be said in palliation of it. He was not first in the transgression.
The idea of it did not originate with him. His feelings revolted at it when it was
proposed to him. He remonstrated against it. Besides, it was a parent who urged him
on, a fond and tender mother. And we must remember, too, that all those motives
which led Rebekah to form this plot would operate also in Jacob’s mind to lead him
to execute it. It was furthering the will of God, it was saving a father from sin. Let
young persons see here what a single deviation from truth can do. In one short hour
it made the pious Jacob appear and act like one of the worst of men.
2. As for the punishment of Jacob’s sin, we must read the history of his life to see the
extent of it. It followed him almost to his dying hour. He was successful in his
treachery; it obtained from his deceived father the desired birthright; but what fruit
had he from his success? We might say none at all, or rather he sowed the wind and
he reaped the whirlwind. His fears were realized; he did bring a curse on him and not
a blessing.
IV. We come now to the case of Esau. Alive to the present and reckless of the future, he
preferred to it the momentary gratification of a sensual appetite. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
How Jacob stole his blessing
I. ISAAC’S OBSTINATE PARTIALITY.
II. REBEKAH’S CRAFTINESS, AND JACOB’S FRAUD.
III. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FRAUD. Isaac’s vain regret. Esau’s murderous
malice. Rebekah’s fear for her favourite son. Jacob’s hasty banishment. Conclusion:
What may we especially learn for ourselves?
1. Not to resist God’s will, like Isaac. We may sometimes think we know what is best;

66. yet, if we listened to God’s word, we should not do the very thing we perhaps most
like to do.
2. Not to forfeit God’s favour and blessing, like Esau. It was Esau’s own recklessness
and worldliness that led to his being rejected, and to “the blessing” being withheld
from him. He had shown himself to be incapable of deeper thoughts and religious
faith.
3. Not to do wrong that good may come, like Rebekah and Jacob. God’s promises will
be fulfilled in due time. But we must neither murmur, nor be hasty (comp. Heb_2:3).
(W. S. Smith, B. D.)
The wily supplanter
Jacob, whose nature was at this time true to his name.
1. Receives a hint from his mother. Sad that her maternal love should have prompted
such an act. Esau, as much her son as Jacob. She was equally bound by natural
obligations to care far one as the other. No apologies seem to be a sufficient
vindication of conduct that was in its very essence wrong.
2. Closes with his mother’s recommendation. He ought to have resented it; to have
expostulated, and over-ruled it. He rather suggests difficulties (Gen_27:11) to prompt
her ingenuity.
3. Adopts the disguise she prepared, and followed her directions. Deception; and
self-deception the worst of all. Perhaps thought it well, even by such means, to gain
the blessing.
4. Repeated falsehoods. Again and again assured his father that he was Esau.
5. Obtained the blessing. Yet how could that bless which had been so obtained? God,
in His mercy, ultimately brought good out of the evil Otherwise the father’s blessing,
so obtained, must have been a curse. (J. C. Gray.)
Appearances often deceptive
“The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” We cannot always
depend upon appearances. When, at the time of the gunpowder plot, the Parliament
houses were searched, only coals and fagots were found in the cellars beneath. But, on a
more careful search, barrels of gunpowder were found under the coals and wood, as well
as Guy Fawkes with his preparations to blow up the king and his parliament. Many a
fine-looking tree is rotten at the core; some who are very healthy in appearance are
secretly and fatally diseased; gilding or paint sometimes covers really worthless rubbish;
so the lives of some who profess to be “the epistles of Christ “ are really a forgery, for they
are not what they profess to be. Many who speak in religious services, or at other times
and places, with “Jacob’s voice,” or as saints, really have “the hands of Esau,” for they are
living in the practice of wickedness. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The deception of Isaac
It is often forgotten that Jacob was divinely appointed to be the inheritor of the blessing.

67. The omission from the calculation or thought of that one fact is likely to lead not only to
mental perplexity but to moral confusion. You find the proof of the assertion in
Gen_25:23. The Lord said unto Rebekah, in view of the birth of her children, “The one
people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
The mystery, therefore, is Divine. Jacob was a destined man; Jacob was destined before
he was born; what, then, was his error? Not in feeling, how mysteriously soever, the
pressure of his destiny, but in prematurely taking it into his own hands. We must not
force Providence. Is there not an appointed time to man upon the earth, in a much wider
sense than in the sense of marking out the day of his death? Is there not a time for the
rising of the sun and the going down of the same? Is there not a seed time in the year, as
well as a harvest day? We are tempted to force Providence, thus to do the right thing in
the wrong way, and at the wrong time. Right is not a question of a mere point; it gathers
up into its mystery all the points of the case, so that it is not enough to be going in the
right road; we must have come into that road through the right door, at the right hour,
and by direct intervention and sanction of God. It is tempting to natures like ours to help
ourselves by trickery. We do like to meddle with God. Granted that the mother saw the
religious aspect of this whole case, and knew the destiny of the boys, she had no right to
force Divine Providence. Was Rebekah moved by the consciousness of destiny, or was
she excited by the spirit of revenge? It is easy for us to mistake our revenge for religion.
Some men pray out of spite; some men preach Christ out of envy; it is possible to build a
church upon the devil’s foundation, and to light an altar with the devil’s fire. Jacob was
pre-eminently a destined child, a man with a special mark upon him: how he will come
out of this we shall see; but God will be King and Master, and right shall be done. What,
then, is to be our attitude under the consciousness of destiny, and under the suggestion
of tempting events? Our attitude is to be one of perfect resignation. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The temptation of destiny
Although the prediction of the fact did not entitle her or her son to bring about its
fulfilment, yet it makes some slight difference in the case. For we see even now that when
a nation or a man once feels that it is “manifest destiny” to do a certain thing—
predetermined—he feels free to do that thing, no matter how unjust it is.
We see the same delusion in a thousand other cases. Shakespeare recognizes it in the
great drama of “Macbeth.” The prediction, “Thou shalt be king hereafter,” did not justify
the murder, but it seemed to give to it a certain supernatural countenance, marshalling
the murderer the way that he was going. If this can be the case when the supernatural
soliciting comes from below, how much more strong when it was felt to come from above
—from God Himself! Then remember, besides, that there was somethingnot altogether
evil in Jacob’s passionate coveting of the birthright. For it was a sacred good, and eagerly
to appreciate it as he did was itself a sign of some fitness for it; while to despise it as Esau
did marked the man as unworthy of it. (A. G. Mercer.)
The selection of Jacob
But now hear me for a moment in defence of that Divine Providence which allowed the
substitution of this particular man, Jacob, in the place of this particular man, Esau, as
the third of the patriarchs. The importance of a right choice here is not easily over-rated.
For several reasons the character of the patriarchs was to influence and mould the
character of the Hebrew race more than could be done by any of the whole line of law-

68. givers, princes, prophets, and warriors—Moses, perhaps, excepted, To have the right
man, then, was indeed important. But was Jacob he? or, at least, was he more fit than
Esau? He was. What was Jacob? Let us see. A man may be described by three things—
whether he has ends—what they are—and how he reaches them.
1. Whether he has ends. Esau had not, He was one of a class of characters who live
without any distant ends to reach—who live very much from day to day, working
perhaps energetically for their little daily plans, or floating from interest to interest.
Jacob was, above all things else, a man of purpose.
2. The next question about a man is, What are his ends? Two traits in a man’s ends
lift up the man—the remoteness and the generosity of his ends. If very remote—that
is, if a man takes into his vision the whole scope of his life, and with a masterly power
brings under his whole existence to that far-oft end—that man, even though his ends
are selfish, is a superior person. Now Jacob was certainly that man. Show me such a
man anywhere, and I will show you his equal here. Seven years of the hardest service
he served for Rachel, and counted them but as seven days—and then seven more. He
wore through twenty years of the hardest life,carrying on his design that he should be
the successor and heir of Isaac, and though he was of a timid nature, never yielding
that purpose, even when he stood in the presence of the avenger Esau himself. Never
was there a more patient, tenacious soul. This was singular, for remember that
primitive men may be persistent in passions, but not in purposes, save in that one
passion and purpose—revenge. But Jacob had all the calmness and tenacity of an
advanced age. His end, however, may have been a selfish one. Self-advancement?
Yes. But, considering the age and place, self-advancement was one of the higher
forms of virtue, especially when we know that the end Jacob sought had a certain
sacredness about it—the hope, namely, that he should be in the line of God’s special
favours—should take eminent place as His servant.
3. The third test of a man is the means he uses to reach his ends. Jacob’s were bad
enough. Remember, however, that the rule, the end does not justify the means, was
unknown to Jacob—is, in fact, a great and modern discovery in morals, not fully
known even yet. And remember, besides, that whatever his means were, they were
always effective, and never gratuitously wicked. On the whole, then, here was a mixed
character as to its excellence, but a high character as to its ability. Nay, besides—this
very mixture, the very defects of character, made Jacob a fit instrument of the Divine
purposes. He was, even in his weakest points, far better fitted to lay the foundations
of a family and kingdom than the impulsive and purposeless Esau. Had he been a
more purely excellent man, he would have been less fitted. A style of character purely
excellent cannot lay a permanent grasp upon the men of early ages, or men of any age
not high enough to receive it. The powerful great man is the one who is at once above
and yet along-side of his fellows. Hence we see, as a matter of fact, that among the
patriarchs, though Abraham is most revered, Jacob has been the truly influential
man with the Jewish masses. He has moulded the mass of the Jewish people into his
own image. I regard this as specially providential. Thus the purer and higher were led
to God and held to God through the high spirit that was in Abraham; the body were
held to God and their religion through the lower soul of Jacob. They could be inferior
Jacobs when they could not be properly children of Abraham.
So, through lower and higher instruments, the purposes of God are worked out.
1. Among the thoughts suggested by the subject, notice first the effect of success in
the judgment of character. Esau, once gone under, holds no place.

69. 2. Notice, again, how poorly we judge of mixed characters. The same Jacob who
over-reached his father, his brother, and I might say destiny itself, the supplanter,
the robber, who “from a shelf the precious diadem stole, and put it in his pocket,”
was yet the same who wrestled all night with God. Truly we are all of different
natures, marvellously mixed—a worm, a god! This should teach me at least some
things, such as humility to myself. I know by this that the statues of the demi-gods
stand on clay feet—that my best moments, my best feelings, are but a part of me—
that I have a whole world of things to repent of, and to be ashamed of, before God.
That, and nothing of soul growth, was especially the fact with Jacob. His character
was unlike that of the other patriarchs in this: Abraham and Isaac, such as we see
them at first, are very much such as we see them at last. But Jacob only becomes his
real, that is, his higher self at the last. At the bottom of his young and eager ambition
and selfishness there was at the very first, as I have said, something good, the root of
a great tree of right—namely, the real sense that God’s blessing and favour were
above allvalue—and so in his blind, but most earnest way, he went to work to grasp
them.
3. There is one test every man should solemnly try himself by, one test of what our
ultimate selves and our ultimate destiny will be—Does the good part of our
characters grow? (A. G. Mercer.)
5. Steven cole A third undercurrent is mistrust. You can’t carry on secrets
and manipulative plots in a family without eroding trust. Isaac
didn’t trust Rebekah or Jacob or he would have included them in
the plan to give away his blessing. Rebekah didn’t trust Isaac or she
wouldn’t have gone to such elaborate lengths to deceive him. Jacob
knew that his father wouldn’t trust him, as seen in his comment to
his mother, “Perhaps my father will feel me, then I shall be as a
deceiver [mocker] in his sight; ...” (27:12). Neither Jacob nor Esau
trusted each other. It was a family riddled with mistrust because it
operated on the basis of deception and secrecy instead of honesty
and openness.
But did Isaac get what he wanted? Instead of wild game, he
got spiced up goat. Instead of blessing Esau, he put him under a
curse, because he ordained that whoever cursed Jacob should be
cursed, and Esau planned to kill Jacob. His family was riddled with
rivalry and his sons were separated from him. He and his wife were
at odds and didn’t trust each other. Isaac sought his own way,
didn’t get what he wanted, and paid a high price.
And what about the cost? Rebekah calculated that the whole
thing would blow over soon (27:44-45): “Stay with him a few days,
until your brother’s fury subsides, until your brother’s anger against
you subsides, and he forgets what you did to him. Then I shall send
and get you from there.” The “few days” turned out to be 20 years,
and Rebekah probably never saw her favorite son again. When he

70. returns, Isaac is mentioned, but not Rebekah. In the only other
mention of her name in Genesis, Jacob on his deathbed states that
they buried Rebekah in the cave of Machpelah (49:31, implying that
he was not there). So Rebekah spent her final years bereft of her
sons, emotionally estranged from her blind husband. She sought
her own way, didn’t get what she wanted, and paid a high price.
Again, I must disagree with commentators who exonerate Jacob.
Some say that he was valuing spiritual things and, after all, he
was only obeying his mother. But remember, the man wasn’t a
teenager—he was probably 77 years old! He should have rebuked
his mother for her deceptive scheme. Clearly, Jacob is not a spiritually-
minded man. He does not fear God or His moral law; he only
fears that the scheme might not work and he might get cursed instead
of blessed. He wanted the wealth and advantage which went
along with the blessing. Like Rebekah, Jacob was seeking his own
way under the guise of seeking God’s way.
Note the extremes he was willing to take to get what he
wanted. His blind old father asks, “Who are you, my son?” Jacob
flatly lies, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me”
(27:18-19). When Isaac questions how he could have returned so
quickly, Jacob crassly gives God the credit (27:20)! But because of
Jacob’s voice, Isaac still has doubts. So he calls Jacob to him so he
can feel his skin. After feeling the deceptive goatskins on Jacob’s
arms, he asks again, “Are you really my son Esau?” And Jacob
baldly lies again, “I am” (27:24). He caps the whole thing off with a
kiss! Where is Jacob’s conscience?
Jacob’s actions seem incredible—until you get honest with
yourself. If you know your heart, you can see yourself right there in
Jacob’s sandals, doing the same thing. Haven’t you ever bent the
truth when you were under pressure or when you thought it was
for a good cause? And once you tell the first lie, it’s harder to bail
out. So you dig yourself in deeper and deeper.
Did Jacob get what he was after? On the surface, yes, he got
the blessing. But it didn’t quite do for him what he was expecting.
He had to flee from his brother who wanted to kill him. The
blessing stipulated that he would be master of his brothers (vs. 29),
but before Esau bowed to Jacob, Jacob would bow before Esau
and call him lord (33:3, 8). He thought the blessing would put him
in a position of influence, but before that it forced him to become
the indentured servant of a man who deceived him. Later the sons
of this deceiver would deceive their father concerning his beloved
son, Joseph, telling him that the animals had killed the boy. For 20
years he mourned for that son, thinking him to be dead before he
found out the truth. So Jacob sought his own way, didn’t get what
he wanted, and paid high installment payments for years to come.
4. The theme is illustrated with Esau.
While we may sympathize with Esau, there is no doubt that he
was seeking his own way. Granted, he was the older brother, so the

71. birthright and blessing should have been his. But he had made a
legal agreement with his brother to sell his birthright. It was not
true, as Esau laments, that Jacob took away his birthright (27:36).
Esau gave it up. Here, he was in cahoots with his father’s secretive
plan to get the blessing for himself; he just happened to get outsmarted.
As a godless man, not concerned about the spiritual
promises God had given to Abraham, Esau was clearly seeking his
own way, not God’s way.
His tears (27:34, 38) may make us feel sorry for him. But remember,
Esau wasn’t truly repentant, ready to turn from his selfseeking
ways to follow God’s ways. He was just sorry he didn’t get
what he was after. He was like the guy who heard at work that his
neighbor’s house burned down. Since they didn’t get along too
well, he shrugged and said, “Too bad!” Then he drove home and
found out that his own house had burned down, too. If he started
wailing, you wouldn’t assume that he was sorry for his neighbor or
for his own bad attitude. He was just sorry for himself. Esau wasn’t
truly repentant toward God; he was just sorry his scheme hadn’t
worked.
Clearly, Esau didn’t get the blessing he desired. He ended up
estranged from God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants.
He became the father of the Edomites, who lived to the east of the
Dead Sea and were later subjected by several kings of Israel. They
finally succeeded in casting off Israel’s rule, even as Isaac prophesied
(27:40). They sided with Nebuchadnezzar in his overthrow of
Jerusalem (587 B.C.) and were overjoyed at its destruction (Ps.
137:7; Lam. 4:21, 22; Obadiah 10-16). Esau, like Isaac, Rebekah,
and Jacob, sought his own way, didn’t get what he wanted, and
paid a high price.
Conclusion
Let me draw four concluding lessons from this drama:
(1) If we sow to the flesh, we’ll reap from the flesh. The law of sowing
and reaping is as true for God’s people as it is for unbelievers. If
you live for the pleasures of the flesh, you will reap from the flesh
corruption (Gal. 6:7-8). If you live for the things of this world, you
may get them, but you’ll be poor before God.
Some may protest: “But we’re under grace, not law!” But remember,
Paul warned about sowing and reaping in the very letter
where he strongly argues for the grace of God--Galatians. You
can’t plant spinach and harvest sweet corn. While sin may taste
sweet in your mouth, it will be bitter in your stomach and you’ll
wish you had never tasted it! That’s true for believers under grace.
(2) You can’t thwart the ultimate purpose of God, so why not work with
Him, not against Him? It is utter futility to fight God. It may seem as
if you’re going to be able to get away with your plan. But “He who
sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them” (Ps. 2:4). Man’s
sin can never thwart God’s purpose. It may appear that things are
not under God’s control and that the forces of evil are going to
turn world history to their own ends. It’s only an illusion. Even the
wrath of man will bring ultimate praise to God (Ps. 76:10). God,

72. not man, determines history. You can either smash yourself to bits
trying to fight against God or you can submit to His purpose. As
the apostle Paul and millions of others can tell you, life is a lot
more pleasant when you don’t kick against the goads.
(3) Godly ends do not justify wrong means. Was it God’s will to give
the blessing to Jacob? Yes! Was it right for Rebekah and Jacob to
gain the blessing through deception? No! Methods do matter!
Wrong methods don’t become right just because they work, even
when they help accomplish God’s purpose. We live in a pragmatic
culture, and many Christians have bought into any method that
works. Just because a marketing scheme brings people into the
church does not make it right. God’s work must be done in His
way.
(4) The way to find your life is to lose it for Christ’s sake. Hebrews
11:20 states: “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding
things to come.” How can that be, when it seems that he was acting
in the flesh? The answer is in Genesis 27:33, where a trembling
Isaac realizes that he has really blessed Jacob, not Esau, as he intended.
He admits, “Yes, and he shall be blessed.” At that point
Isaac realized that he and Esau had been fighting against God and
they had lost. God pinned him to the mat, Isaac admitted defeat,
and submitted to God’s sovereign way. So Isaac gives up his theme
song, “I Did It My Way.” He lost his life, only to find real life in
God.
That’s the key, by the way, to family harmony—when each
member dies to his own selfish way and lives for God’s way. What
is God’s word to wives? “Submit to your husband.” Many Christian
wives hate that word! It grates on the flesh. But it is God’s
Word to wives! Before you husbands start gloating, remember
God’s word to you: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” The Bible never
tells husbands to get their wives to submit. It tells us to seek the
highest good of our wives by dying to our own selfish ways. God’s
word to children is, “Obey your parents” and you will be blessed.
To parents (especially fathers) He says, “Don’t provoke your children
to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of
the Lord.” (Eph. 5:22-6:4).
Many Christian counselors are telling hurting people, “Assert
yourself! Stand up for your rights! Don’t be codependent! You’ve
got a right to some happiness in life, so go for it!” But God’s Word
is clear: If you seek your own way, you won’t get what you want
and you’ll pay a high price in family conflict. If you’ll die to your
way and seek God’s way, He will give you the desires of your heart.
You’ve got to decide which will be your theme song: “I did it my
way,” or, “I did it God’s way?”
15

73. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older
son, which she had in the house, and put them on her
younger son Jacob.
1. Clarke, “Goodly raiment - Mr. Ainsworth has a sensible note on this place. “The
priest in the law had holy garments to minister in, Exo_28:2-4, which the Septuagint
there and in this place term την στολην, The robe, and στολην ᅋγιαν, the holy robe.
Whether the first-born, before the law, had such to minister in is not certain, but it is
probable by this example; for had they been common garments, why did not Esau
himself, or his wives, keep them? But being, in all likelihood, holy robes, received from
their ancestors, the mother of the family kept them in sweet chests from moths and the
like, whereupon it is said, Gen_27:27, Isaac smelled the smell of his garments.” The
opinion of Ainsworth is followed by many critics.
2. Gill, “And Rebekah took goodly garments of her eldest son Esau,.... Or
"desirable" (q) ones, exceeding good ones:
which were with her in the house; which she had the care and keeping of, and were
wore only on particular occasions: some think these were priestly garments, which
belonged to him as the firstborn, and were not in the keeping of his wives, being
idolaters, but in his mother's keeping; which is not very probable, yet more likely than
that they were, as some Jewish writers (r) say, the garments of Adam the first man,
which Esau seeing on Nimrod, greatly desired them, and slew him for them, see
Gen_10:10; and hence called desirable garments:
and put them upon Jacob her younger son; that be might be took for Esau, should
Isaac examine him and feel his garments, or smell them.
3. COKE, “Genesis 27:15. Took goodly raiment of her eldest son, &c.— Some critics of very
great name, as Bochart, Selden, Grotius, &c. are of opinion, that these were the sacerdotal
garments, appropriated to the first-born, which seems very probable; and if so, we have a
confirmation of what was suggested onGenesis 27:1. The Jews, who generally render the truth itself
suspicious by their fabulous additions, pretend that these were the very garments in which Adam,
Noah, and Abraham sacrificed and performed religious offices. It, however, certainly deserves
observation, that the word rendered goodly, comes from a root ‫חמד‬ chamad, signifying to desire
earnestly, to covet, and is applied to all sorts of sacred things, both of the true and false worship,
which were to the respective parties eminently the objects of theirdesire and affections. See the
Lexicographers. For the skins of kids, Genesis 27:16 it is remarked, that in the eastern countries,
goats' hair very much resembles the human.

74. 16
She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his
neck with the goatskins.
1. Gill, “And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands,.... Upon
both his hands, and the whole of them that was bare, that he might appear to be like
Esau:
and upon the smooth of his neck; which in Esau was covered with hair as his hands;
and Hiscuni, a Jewish writer (s), observes, that the skins of goats are rough, and like the
skin of a hairy man; and so Bochart (t) remarks, that goats' hair in the eastern countries
is not much unlike human hair; see 1Sa_19:13.
17
Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and
the bread she had made.
1. Gill, “And she gave the savoury meat,.... Seasoned and dressed in such a manner
as might be taken for venison:
and the bread which she had prepared to eat with it:
into the hand of her son Jacob; the dish of meat in one hand, and the bread in the
other.
18
He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes,
my son," he answered. "Who is it?"

75. 1. Gill, “And he came unto his father,.... Into the tent and apartment where he was:
and said, my father; to try whether he was awake, and to let him know that he was
come, since he could not see him:
and he said, here am I; what hast thou to say to me?
who art thou, my son? for, from the voice and the quick dispatch made, he suspected
it was not his son Esau.
2Henry, “Observe here, I. The art and assurance with which Jacob managed this
intrigue. Who would have thought that this plain man could have played his part so well
in a design of this nature? His mother having put him in the way of it, and encouraged
him in it, he dexterously applied himself to those methods which he had never
accustomed himself to, but had always conceived an abhorrence of. Note, Lying is soon
learnt. The psalmist speaks of those who, as soon as they are born, speak lies, Psa_58:3;
Jer_9:5.
3. Jamison, “he came unto his father — The scheme planned by the mother was to
be executed by the son in the father’s bedchamber; and it is painful to think of the
deliberate falsehoods, as well as daring profanity, he resorted to. The disguise, though
wanting in one thing, which had nearly upset the whole plot, succeeded in misleading
Isaac; and while giving his paternal embrace, the old man was roused into a state of high
satisfaction and delight.
4. COFFMA , “It is curious that Jacob referred to Jehovah in this episode as "your God,"
thus answering the question after the manner of the irreligious Esau, who from this appears
as one who had renounced all faith in God for himself.
"So he blessed him ..." should be rendered, "Still, as he was about to bless him."[14] "This is
the denotation of the Hebrew imperfect."[15] The source-splitting critics, not knowing this,
suppose two sources!
Rebekah's cunning plan of deception addressed all of Isaac's four remaining senses except
hearing. Hearing should have been enough for Isaac to discern the truth, but, as he had
turned away from hearing God's Word with reference to his two sons, it was fitting indeed
that he should have ignored hearing as it also concerned the words of Jacob. He was a man
who lived according to taste, smell, and feeling. His eyesight had faded. Marshall Keeble
used to warn people against going by "their feelings" in religion, saying, "If Isaac had stuck
to hearing and ignored his feelings, he would not have been deceived."
"The kiss ..." (Genesis 27:26) "The kiss appears here for the first time as the token of true
love and deep affection."[16]
"Give thee of the dew of heaven ..." Our version translates this expression by an identical
rendition in Isaac's blessing of Esau (Genesis 27:29), but later versions render the words in
Esau's blessing as "away from the dew of heaven." "The expression has a double
meaning."[17] "It means either: (1) of the dew of heaven (as in Jacob's blessing); or (2) away
from the dew of heaven (as in Esau's blessing).[18] Thus, the context and theological
considerations must determine which is meant. The scholars are correct in rendering it

76. differently in the two places. This characteristic of the Bible extends throughout; and, just as
this word has two different meanings in a single chapter, just so the word "seed" must be
interpreted according to the context.
"And nations (shall) bow down to thee ..." All of the thirty-two kingdoms of Canaan were
conquered, subdued, and driven out of Palestine by the posterity of Jacob, as prophesied
here; but there is a remote and greater fulfillment also which took place in Christ the Second
Israel as manifested on earth in his Church. The ancient prophets expanded on this
prophecy by affirming that, "The nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish ...
(they) shall come bending low to you" (Isaiah 60:12,14). The fulfillment of this came when the
Gentiles bowed before the feet of Christ, the true Israel. There is no promise here that racial
Jews shall eventually rule the earth.
5. K&D 18-23, “But Jacob had no easy task to perform before his father. As soon as he
had spoken on entering, his father asked him, “Who art thou, my son?” On his replying,
“I am Esau, thy first-born,” the father expressed his surprise at the rapid success of his
hunting; and when he was satisfied with the reply, “Jehovah thy God sent it (the thing
desired) to meet me,” he became suspicious about the voice, and bade him come nearer,
that he might feel him. But as his hands appeared hairy like Esau's, he did not recognise
him; and “so he blessed him.” In this remark (Gen_27:23) the writer gives the result of
Jacob's attempt; so that the blessing is merely mentioned proleptically here, and refers
to the formal blessing described afterwards, and not to the first greeting and salutation.
Jacob comes, no doubt trembling, to his father, honing the skills of deception that he
will use so effectively later on. His father’s reply reflects doubt. This does not sound
like Esau. From this point on the writer skilfully builds up the tension for his
hearers. Will Isaac see through the deception?
27.19 ‘And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you
bade me. Get up, I pray you, sit and eat of my venison that your soul may bless me.”
The reply sounds right, but there is something Isaac does not like.
27.20-21 ‘And Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because Yahweh your God sent me good speed.” And Isaac said to
Jacob, “Come near, I pray you, that I may feel you my son, whether you are truly
my son Esau or not.”
Isaac is uneasy. The speed with which the venison has been found adds to his
already growing doubts. And the reply makes him even more uneasy. It is not like
Esau to speak with such piety. He would have expected that of Jacob. He knows he
must use his hands and feel the speaker so as to ensure who it is.
27.22 ‘And Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice
is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ’
His son approaches and he feels his hands. There can be no doubt that they are
hairy like Esau’s. Certainly not Jacob’s. He does not dream that his younger son
would dare to deceive him. And how would Jacob know what he had asked Esau to

77. do? But the voice, and the words spoken, they speak so much of Jacob. But in the
end the hairiness decides it.
27.23 ‘And he did not work out who he was because his hands were hairy like his
brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him.’
The deception has worked. Isaac has been convinced. If we think he should have
suspected we must remember he had no reason to suspect. And with his eyes blind
and his senses dulled (he has not yet eaten) he accepts the evidence of the hairiness
which can really not have any other explanation. The enormity of what Jacob has
done is so great that he probably could not believe it was possible. Surely a son
would not deceive his own father? Yahweh Himself would pronounce on the iniquity
of the man who deceives the blind (compare Leviticus 19.14; Deuteronomy 27.18
where the principle is in mind).
‘So he blessed him.’ A summary, speaking of what is to come indicating that he is
now convinced. We have noted before this tendency to say briefly what happens
before expanding on it, (see 26.1b; 26.18). We might paraphrase ‘that is the main
reason why he now enters the blessing process’.
27.24 ‘And he said, “Are you truly my son Esau?” And he said, “I am’.
Isaac now moves into the blessing process. The question is formal. He is not now
voicing suspicion but simply asking for the recipient to confirm his title.
(The blessing process goes - confirmation of the recipient, partaking of the
requested offering, a sealing kiss, the blessing).
19
Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I
have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some
of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
This was no white fib, but a black lie. He was deceiving his father by pretending
to be his brother Esau.
Jacob knew the promise of God and listened to his mother rather than to God.
"Whoever believes will not act hastily" (Isa. 28:16). Most of the really bad decisions
I have made, I made in haste. Rebekah must have been a good cook to make goat's
meat taste like venison. Jacob is the perfect example of the hypocrite. His voice and
hands do not agree (in other words, what he says and what he does). In v. 19 Jacob

78. will tell three lies "I am Esau"; "I have done" (his mother did); "eat my venison" (it
was goat's meat). His kiss in v.27 was equally as deceitful. Did Jacob pay a price?
Many times over. Laban deceived him concerning his wives, changed his wages. In
addition, Jacob's own sons would also kill a kid (37:31) and put its blood on
Joseph's coat to deceive their father. "Be sure that your sin will find you out"
( um.32:23).
A look at Jacob's suspicious behavior). ote the fear: He feared he might be found
out. "I shall seem as a deceiver!" (Exactly). It did not seem to bother him that he
was a deceiver! Yet he does what his mother suggests. OTE: HE wanted to keep up
appearances while still being a deceiver.
Look at verse !9: Jacob tells 5 lies in a row. Somehow the old man is still not quite
convinced. At the last lie he adds God's name in order to give it added credibility.
1. Clarke, “I am Esau thy first-born - Here are many palpable falsehoods, and such
as should neither be imitated nor excused. “Jacob,” says Calmet, “imposes on his father
in three different ways. 1. By his words: I am thy first-born Esau. 2. By his actions; he
gives him kids’ flesh for venison, and says he had executed his orders, and got it by
hunting. 3. By his clothing; he puts on Esau’s garments, and the kids’ skins upon his
hands and the smooth of his neck. In short, he made use of every species of deception
that could be practiced on the occasion, in order to accomplish his ends.” To attempt to
palliate or find excuses for such conduct, instead of serving, disserves the cause of
religion and truth. Men have labored, not only to excuse all this conduct of Rebekah and
Jacob, but even to show that it was consistent, and that the whole was according to the
mind and will of God!
Non tali auxilio,
non defensoribus istis
The cause of God and truth is under no obligation to such defenders; their hands are
more unhallowed than those of Uzzah; and however the bearers may stumble, the ark of
God requires not their support. It was the design of God that the elder should serve the
younger, and he would have brought it about in the way of his own wise and just
providence; but means such as here used he could neither sanction nor recommend.
2. Gill, “And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn,.... Had he only
said that he was his firstborn, he might have been excused from lying, because he had
bought the birthright of Esau; but when he says, I am Esau, he can by no means be
excused; for to say he impersonated Esau will not do; besides, he afterwards says he was
his very son Esau, Gen_27:24,
I have done according as thou badest me; which is another lie; for Isaac had not
bid him bring him any venison, nor go into the field for it, and take it and dress it for
him; nor indeed had Jacob done either of these:
arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison; or "hunting" (u), what he had hunted;

79. another untruth, for it was not venison he brought him, nor anything that was hunted by
him: by this it seems that Isaac lay upon a bed or couch through infirmity, and therefore
is bid to arise and put himself in a proper posture for eating, which in those times and
countries was usually sitting:
that thy soul may bless me; as this was the thing in view, so speaking of it as soon as
he came in, and which he desired might be done after his father had eat and drank,
might serve to take off the suspicion of his being another person; since this was what
Isaac himself proposed to Esau to do; and this he said when there were none else
present.
3. Henry, “I wonder how honest Jacob could so readily turn his tongue to say
(Gen_27:19), I am Esau thy first-born; nor do I see how the endeavour of some to bring
him off with that equivocation, I am made thy first-born, namely by purchase, does him
any service; for when his father asked him (Gen_27:24), Art thou my very son Esau? he
said, I am. How could he say, I have done as thou badest me, when he had received no
command from his father, but was doing as his mother bade him? How could he say, Eat
of my venison, when he knew it came, not from the field, but from the fold? But
especially I wonder how he could have the assurance to father it upon God, and to use his
name in the cheat (Gen_27:20): The Lord thy God brought it to me. Is this Jacob? Is this
Israel indeed, without guile? It is certainly written, not for our imitation, but for our
admonition. Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Good men have
sometimes failed in the exercise of those graces for which they have been most eminent.
4. CALVI , “And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau (46) At first Jacob was
timid and anxious; now, having dismissed his fear, he confidently and audaciously
lies. By which example we are taught, that when any one has transgressed the
proper bounds of duty, he soon allows himself unmeasured license. Wherefore there
is nothing better than for each to keep himself within the limits divinely prescribed
to him, lest by attempting more than is lawful, he should open the door to Satan. I
have before shown how far his seeking the blessing by fraud, and insinuating
himself into the possession of it by falsehood, was contrary to faith. Yet this
particular fault and divergence from the right path, did not prevent the faith which
had been produced by the oracle from holding on, in some way, its course. In
excusing the quickness of his return by saying that the venison was brought to him
by God, he speaks in accordance with the rule of piety: he sins, however, in mixing
the sacred name of God with his own falsehoods. Thus, when there is a departure
from truth, the reverence which is apparently shown to God is nothing else than a
profanation of his glory. It was right that the prosperous issue of his hunting should
be ascribed to the providence of God, lest we should imagine that any good thing
was the result of chance; but when Jacob pretended that God was the author of a
benefit which had not been granted to himself, and that, too, as a cloak for his
deception, his fault was not free from perjury.
5. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 19. I am Esau thy firstborn, &c.] Here he utters three lies in a

80. breath: besides his ascribing to God that he did, [Genesis 27:20] so taking that reverend
name in vain. This was his sin, and he smarted for it to his dying day: for he had scarcely a
merry hour after this; but God followed him with one sorrow upon another, to teach him
and us what an "evil and bitter thing sin is," [Jeremiah 2:19] and how it ensnares and ensnarls
us. Aristotle could say, that a lie is in itself evil and wicked. (a) The Hebrews call it Aven, a
great iniquity. And the Scripture reckons it among monstrous sins, [Revelation 21:8] and
condemns it to hell, - whether it be the officious, merry, or pernicious lie. Indeed, every lie is
pernicious to ourselves or others, or both; because flatly forbidden of God, and because it is
against the order of nature, and for that "no lie is of the truth," as St John hath it, [1 John
2:21] but of the devil, who began, and still upholds his kingdom by lies. [John 8:44]
Contrarily, God is truth, and his children are all such as will not lie, [Isaiah 63:8 Revelation
14:5] at least, not get a haunt and a habit of lying, which David calls "a way of lying":
"Remove from me the way of lying," saith he, [Psalms 119:29] that I make not a trade or
common practice of it. We find that [1 Samuel 21:2] he very roundly telleth two or three lies
together, as Jacob here did; and all deliberate. So that tale he told Achish of invading the
south of Judah, when he had been upon the Geshurites and Gerarites. [1 Samuel 27:8-11] I
know not how it can be excused. But this was not David’s "way," his common course; pity it
should. Honest heathens condemned lying; the Persians punished it severely in their
children. (b) Homer censures it in Dolon, Ulysses, and others, (c) Clitarchi historici, saith
Quintilian, ingenium probatur, fides infamatur. Nepos reporteth of Epaminondas, (d) that
he so loved truth that he would not once lie, no, not in jest. A shame to many Christians,
who think the officious and sporting lie to be nothing. Whereas [Galatians 1:10] we must not
speak the truth to please men, much less lie. And for saving ourselves, we must rather die
then lie; else Peter had not sinned in denying his Master. As for profiting others, we may not
lie, though it were to save a soul. [Romans 3:7] We may as well commit fornication with the
Moabites, to draw them to our religion, or steal from rich men to give to the poor, as lie to
do another man a good turn. See Job 13:7-9.
6. WESLEY
19. And Jacob said, I am Esau - Who would have thought this plain man could
have played such a part? His mother having put him in the way of it, he applies
himself to those methods which he had never accustomed himself to, but had
always conceived an abhorrence of. But lying is soon learned. I wonder how
honest Jacob could so readily turn his tongue to say, I am Esau thy first- born:
and when his father asked him, ver. 24. Art thou my very son Esau? to reply I
am. How could he say, I have done as thou badst me, when he had received no
command from his father, but was doing as his mother bid him? How could he
say, Eat of my venison, when he knew it came not from the field, but from the
fold? But especially I wonder how he could have the forehead to father it upon
God, and to use his name in the cheat.
7. SCOTT HOEZEE
What you mostly do not expect, however, is to find God himself appearing
complicit with what seems to be something unjust. Yet throughout a good
deal of Genesis, God frequently appears to be on the wrong side of things.
The most consistent example of God's apparent injustice is his routine
ignoring of an iron-clad ancient societal rule: the rule of primogeniture. The

81. firstborn son, the eldest child in the family, was the most important one. He
was the one who, by virtue of birth order, was to inherit most of the land
and household goods. He would be the one to take his father's place one
day as the paterfamilias, the head of the whole clan. The notion of the
firstborn being of first importance was so widely assumed in the Ancient
Near East as to be virtually unassailable. That is simply the way things
were done. That was simply the way things had always been done.
In the Bible, however, God keeps choosing as his favored one the younger
child. It started with Abel, who seemed to garner God's favor more than the
older, firstborn Cain. It continues with Esau and Jacob. Or is it "Jacob and
Esau." That's the way we usually say it, isn't it: Jacob first, then Esau.
That's not how they tumbled out of the womb, however. Esau was older.
Granted, he was older by only a minute or two, but firstborn is firstborn.
Eventually in Genesis we will see another example of God's choosing
whomever he wants irrespective of birth order when young Joseph rises up
above his ten or so older brothers. Moses will one day rise above his older
brother Aaron, David will get chosen ahead of his more strapping elder
brothers, and so on.
But to people steeped in the tradition of "Firstborn, first in line," God's way
of operating seemed profoundly unfair and unjust. But nowhere is this
more obvious than in the case of younger Jacob. The tale we read tonight
is a much beloved Bible story that has been told with great drama in
Sunday school and Worship Center classrooms around the world from time
immemorial. Sunday school teachers at church and parents reading to their
children at the dinner table never skip this story. But neither do we always
savor its full punch or appreciate its theological scandal. Think of it this
way: can you imagine a father reading this story to his children in the
hopes that maybe one of his kids will dupe the old man the same way
crafty Jacob did his father?!
Obviously no one hopes that will happen! But then how come you never
hear of a parent reading this story and then saying to the kids, "You ever
try to lie to me like Jacob did and I'll whoop your hide!" We don't dare to
say that because we sense all along in Genesis that Jacob is the hero here.
But if so, he's a kind of anti-hero. He's a born sneak. He came out of the
womb grabbing at his older brother's heel and he basically never stopped
grabbing at every opportunity. He worked the angles, exploited his twin
brother's dim-witted nature, told lies like a professional, and could work out
whole scams in his head without much effort at all. He was a crook, a
sneak, a liar, and also by the way God's kind of guy. And if you don't find
that even mildly amazing, you didn't pay attention to what we just read.

82. 20
Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly,
my son?" "The LORD your God gave me success,"
he replied.
To add to the lie, he brought the Lord in as an accomplice. He was using religion
to back up his deception.
This is horrible. Proverbs 19:22 says
Prov. 19:22 ...It is better to be a poor man than a liar.
1. Gill, “And Isaac said unto his son,.... Supposing him to be Esau:
how is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? that is, the venison; that he
had met with it so soon in, the field, and got it dressed and ready in so short a time,
which was not common, and seemed to be too little for doing all this in it, and so still
created some suspicion of deceit:
and he said, because the Lord thy God brought it to me; which was another
falsehood; for it was not the Lord, but his mother brought it to him: and this seems to be
the most marvellous of all, that so good a man should dare to bring the name of the Lord
God into this affair; indeed he does not say the Lord my God, or our God, but thy God;
which some think was done on purpose, the more to cover the deceit, because they
suppose that Esau, whom Jacob impersonated, was an idolater, but this is not so evident;
rather it looks as if Jacob had not the confidence to call the Lord his God with a lie in his
mouth.
2. PINK2. PINK2. PINK2. PINK We refrain from quoting at length the verses that follow. Jacob complies
with his mother’s suggestion, and adds sin to sin. First he impersonates his
brother, tells lies to his father, and ends by going the awful length of bringing in
the name of the Lord God (v. 20). To what fearful lengths will sin quickly lead us
once we take the first wrong step! A similar progression in evil is seen (by way of
implication) in Psalm 1:1: the one who "walks" in the consul of the ungodly will
soon be found "standing" in the way of sinners, and then it will not be long ere he
is discovered "sitting" in the seat of the scornful.
At first suspicious, Isaac’s fears were allayed by his son’s duplicity, and the
blessing was given, "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

83. smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew
of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 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" (vv. 27-29). It is to be noted that the "blessing"
which Jacob here receives from the lips of his father was far below the blessed
string of promises which he received directly from God when wholly cast upon
His grace (see Genesis 28:13-15).
21
Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch
you, my son, to know whether you really are my son
Esau or not."
Isaac is somewhat suspicious, for it does not say he was also going deaf, and so
the voice of Jacob had to sound different than that of Esau. Some even feel that
Isaac was not fooled but knew this had to be the doing of his wife, and that he
went along with it because he knew she was probably right and that Jacob was
to be the one God chose.
1. Gill, “And Isaac said unto Jacob, come near, I pray thee, that I may feel
thee, my son,.... Still suspecting some fraud in the case; and whereas he knew that Esau
was a hairy man, and Jacob smooth, he thought by feeling he could discover the
imposture, if there was any:
whether thou be my very son Esau, or not; which he still pretty much questioned.
22
Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him
and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the

84. hands are the hands of Esau."
1. Gill, “And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father,.... Boldly and without
trembling; which he could the better do, as his father could not see him, and so not
capable of discerning any change in his countenance or outward behaviour:
and he felt him; some parts of his body, especially his hands:
and said, the voice is Jacob's voice; very like it, as if it was the same, as indeed it
was:
but the hands are the hands of Esau; are like them, being hairy as they; or, as the
Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem,"the feeling of the hands is as the feeling of the
hands of Esau;''they feel like them.
2. Henry, “The success of this management. Jacob with some difficulty gained his point,
and obtained the blessing.
1. Isaac was at first dissatisfied, and would have discovered the fraud if he could have
trusted his own ears; for the voice was Jacob's voice, Gen_27:22. Providence has
ordered a strange variety of voices as well as faces, which is also of use to prevent our
being imposed upon; and the voice is a thing not easily disguised nor counterfeited. This
may be alluded to to illustrate the character of a hypocrite. His voice is Jacob's voice, but
his hands are Esau's. He speaks the language of a saint, but does the works of a sinner;
but the judgement will be, as here, by the hands.
3. Calvin, “Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee. It hence appears that the
holy man was suspicious of fraud, and therefore hesitated. Whence it may seem that
the benediction was vain, seeing it had no support of faith. But it thus pleased God
so to perform his work by the hand of Isaac, as not to make him, who was the
instrument, a willing furtherer of his design. or is it absurd that Isaac, like a blind
man, should ignorantly transfer the blessing to a different person from him whom
he intended. The ordinary function of pastors has something of a similar kind; for
since by the command of God, they reconcile men to him, yet they do not discern to
whom this reconciliation comes; thus they cast abroad the seed, but are uncertain
respecting the fruit. Wherefore God does not place the office and power with which
he has invested them, under the control of their own judgment. In this way the
ignorance of Isaac does not nullify the heavenly oracles; and God himself, although
the senses of his servant fail, does not desist from the accomplishment of his
purpose. Here we have a clear refutation of the figment of the Papists, that the
whole force of the sacrament depends upon the intention of the man who
consecrates; as if, truly, it were left to the will of man to frustrate the design of God.
evertheless, what I have already so often said must be remembered, that however
Isaac might be deceived in the person of his son, he yet did not pronounce the
blessing in vain: because a general faith remained in his mind and in part governed

85. his conduct. In forming his judgment from the touch, disregarding the voice, he did
not act according to the nature of faith. And, therefore, with respect to the person,
he was plainly in error. This, however, did not happen in consequence of negligence;
since he diligently and even anxiously turned every way, that he might not deprive
the firstborn of his right. But it pleased the Lord thus to render his senses dull,
partly for the purpose of showing, how vain it is for men to strive to change what he
has once decreed, (because it is impossible hut that his counsel should remain firm
and stable though the whole world should oppose it,) and partly, for the purpose of
correcting, by this kind of chastisement, the absurd attachment by which Isaac was
too closely bound to his firstborn. For whence arose this minute investigation,
except from the fact that an inordinate love of Esau, which had taken entire
possession of his mind, turned him aside from the divine oracle? Therefore, since he
yielded an excessive indulgence to natural feeling, he deserved in every way to be
blinded. So much the greater care ought we to take that, in carrying on God’s work,
we should not give the reins to our human affections.
23
He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy
like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
It would seem that the voice would be a dead giveaway, and that the hands with
skins on would be easily felt to be skins and not his own hair, but Isaac is not a
great investigator and lets his doubts go quickly.
1. Clarke, “And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy - From
this circumstance we may learn that Isaac’s sense of feeling was much impaired by his
present malady. When he could not discern the skin of a kid from the flesh of his son, we
see that he was, through his infirmity, in a fit state to be imposed on by the deceit of his
wife, and the cunning of his younger son.
2. Gill, “And he discerned him not,.... As he could not see, he could make no
judgment by that sense; and, though he had his hearing, and thought the voice was like
Jacob's, he might imagine there might be an alteration in Esau's voice, coming in haste
and weary from the fields; yet, as there could not be any deception in his feeling, he
thought it safest to trust to that, as it follows:
because his hands were hairy as his brother Esau's hands; which could not in a
short time become so naturally; it was more reasonable to think that Esau's voice should
be altered and become like Jacob's, than that Jacob's hands should become like Esau's:

86. so he blessed him; or intended and determined within himself to bless him, for the
blessing was not given till afterwards; unless this is to be understood of a common
blessing, congratulating him on the quick dispatch he made, and the great success he
met with; and after this gave him the patriarchal blessing, which as yet he had not, being
not thoroughly satisfied of him, as appears by what follows.
3. Henry, “At length he yielded to the power of the cheat, because the hands were hairy
(Gen_27:23), not considering how easy it was to counterfeit that circumstance; and now
Jacob carries it on dexterously, sets his venison before his father, and waits at table very
officiously, till dinner is done, and the blessing comes to be pronounced in the close of
this solemn feast. That which in some small degree extenuates the crime of Rebekah and
Jacob is that the fraud was intended, not so much to hasten the fulfilling, as to prevent
the thwarting, of the oracle of God: the blessing was just going to be put upon the wrong
head, and they thought it was time to bestir themselves.
24
"Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he
replied.
He gives one last chance for Jacob to confess his lie, but he does not do so and
confirms it by lying again.
1. Gill, “And said, art thou my very son Esau?.... Still having some doubt on his
mind whether he really was so or not, because of his voice:
and he said, I am; as for the observation of Jarchi upon this, in order to excuse Jacob
from lying, that he does not say, "I am Esau", only "I", it will not do, since it is an answer
to Isaac's question, with a design to deceive him; and he intended by it that he should
understand him as he did, that he was really Esau.
2. K&D 24-29, “After his father, in order to get rid of his suspicion about the voice, had
asked him once more, “Art thou really my son Esau?” and Jacob had replied, “I am” (‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ֲ‫א‬
= yes), he told him to hand him the savoury dish that he might eat. After eating, he kissed his son
as a sing of his paternal affection, and in doing so he smelt the odour of his clothes, i.e., the
clothes of Esau, which were thoroughly scented with the odour of the fields, and then imparted
his blessing (Gen_27:27-29). The blessing itself is thrown, as the sign of an elevated state of mind,
into the poetic style of parallel clauses, and contains the peculiar forms of poetry, such as ‫ה‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ for

87. ‫ה‬ֵ ִ‫ה‬,‫ה‬ֵ‫ו‬ ֱ‫ה‬ for ‫ה‬ֵ‫י‬ ֱ‫,ה‬ etc. The smell of the clothes with the scent of the field suggested to the
patriarch's mind the image of his son's future prosperity, so that he saw him in possession of the
promised land and the full enjoyment of its valuable blessings, having the smell of the field which
Jehovah blessed, i.e., the garden of paradise, and broke out into the wish, “God (Ha-Elohim, the
personal God, not Jehovah, the covenant God) give thee from the dew of heaven, and the fat
fields of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine,” i.e., a land blessed with the dew of heaven and a
fruitful soil.
In Eastern countries, where there is so little rain, the dew is the most important prerequisite for
the growth of the fruits of the earth, and is often mentioned therefore as a source of blessing
(Deu_33:13, Deu_33:28; Hos_14:6; Zec_8:12). In ‫י‬ֵ ַ‫מ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫,מ‬ notwithstanding the absence of the
Dagesh from the ‫,שׁ‬ the ‫מ‬ is the prep. ‫ן‬ ִ‫,מ‬ as the parallel ‫ל‬ ַ ִ‫מ‬ proves; and ‫ים‬ִ ַ‫מ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ both here and in
Gen_27:39 are the fat (fertile) districts of a country. The rest of the blessing had reference to the
future pre-eminence of his son. He was to be lord not only over his brethren (i.e., over kindred
tribes), but over (foreign) peoples and nations also. The blessing rises here to the idea of
universal dominion, which was to be realized in the fact that, according to the attitude assumed
by the people towards him as their lord, it would secure to them either a blessing or a curse. If we
compare this blessing with the promises which Abraham received, there are two elements of the
latter which are very apparent; viz., the possession of the land, in the promise of the rich
enjoyment of its produce, and the numerous increase of posterity, in the promised dominion over
the nations. The third element, however, the blessing of the nations in and through the seed of
Abraham, is so generalized in the expression, which is moulded according to Gen_12:3, “Cursed
be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee,” that the person blessed is
not thereby declared to be the medium of salvation to the nations. Since the intention to give the
blessing to Esau the first-born did not spring from proper feelings towards Jehovah and His
promises, the blessing itself, as the use of the word Elohim instead of Jehovah or El Shaddai (cf.
Gen_28:3) clearly shows, could not rise to the full height of the divine blessings of salvation, but
referred chiefly to the relation in which the two brothers and their descendants would stand to
one another, the theme with which Isaac's soul was entirely filled. It was only the painful
discovery that, in blessing against his will, he had been compelled to follow the saving counsel of
God, which awakened in him the consciousness of his patriarchal vocation, and gave him the
spiritual power to impart the “blessing of Abraham” to the son whom he had kept back, but
whom Jehovah had chosen, when he was about to send him away to Haran

88. 25
Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game
to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob
brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some
wine and he drank.
1. Gill, “And he said, bring it near to me,.... Being in a good measure satisfied that
it must be Esau that was with him, he agreed that he should set his savoury meat before
him he had prepared and brought to him:
and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee; this showed
that as yet he had not blessed him, at least that the main and principal blessing was yet
to come:
and he brought it near to him, and he did eat; set it on a table before him, and
guided his hands to it, or fed him with it, and he made a meal of it:
and he brought him wine, and he drank; and so was comfortably refreshed, and in
a good temper and disposition of mind to confer the blessing.
2. BI, "2. BI, "2. BI, "2. BI, "God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
corn and wine
Isaac blessing Jacob
I. WITH TEMPORAL BLESSINGS.
1. A fertile soil.
2. Abundance of provision.
3. Political pre-eminence.
II. WITH SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS.
1. The channel of spiritual blessing to mankind.
2. A test of character. (T. H. Leale.)
Isaac’s blessing—the parent’s warning
I. First, we shall consider WHEREIN ISAAC’S BLESSING CONSISTED.
1. Plenty, heaven and earth combining to enrich the happy possessor.

89. 2. Power, almost unlimited, especially over his own brethren.
3. And last, though not the least, a mighty influence with God and a great interest in
the courts of heaven. “Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that
blesseth thee.” Or, in other words, “Let God be an enemy to all thy enemies, and a
friend to all thy friends.”
4. Now these, doubtless, were very desirable mercies, and they belonged, by right, to
the first-born; though God was pleased sometimes to revoke that taw, and to transfer
these blessings from the elder to the younger, as instanced in the case before us, and
also in that of Cain and of Reuben. These, I say, were very desirable mercies, and,
when accompanied with the Divine sanction, of untold value. But still, after all, they
were but temporary. They lasted only for this life; and Jacob, I doubt not, might have
managed very well without any one of them. The blessing of Isaac, therefore, must
have comprised something more than what we have here recorded; otherwise we
may be well assured that Jacob would never have risked so much to obtain it, nor
would his mother ever have placed him in so hazardous and perilous a situation. But
the fact is, these temporal blessings were but the “shadows of better things to come.”
They were, to use an apostolic phrase, “the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.” They included all those good things which were more
particularly specified to Abraham when God entered into covenant with him. They
intimated, for instance, in the first place, that from him should descend the Messiah
—He who was to be the “Prince of the kings of the earth . . . before whom all nations
should come and worship . . . and who was to rule them with a rod of iron, and to
break them to shivers as a potter’s vessel.” And, in the second place, that from him
also should come the church that was to be specially owned and blessed by God; and
consequently we find Isaac, when afterwards confirming the blessing to Jacob,
calling it the “blessing of Abraham.”
II. What were THE MEANS THAT REBEKAH ADOPTED to secure the blessing for her
favourite son Jacob. They were little else than a tissue of lies and deceit.
III. Let us now see what LESSONS we may gather up from a contemplation of the whole
subject.
1. In the first place, then, it reads a very solemn and affecting warning to parents. It
teaches the folly and danger of making invidious distinctions between the different
members of your families—of showing an undue partiality for one child more than
another. It is a withering curse. It introduces discord and dissension into every
family wherever it finds a footing, and it is the fruitful source of all evil, social and
moral. Whenever, therefore, you feel its chilling influence beginning to steal over
you, oh, remember Rebekah, and in the name and strength of your God shake it from
you. Give it no encouragement; or, if you must, keep it to yourself. Let no one else
ever see or feel it. In the second place, learn from this subject the way in which our
Heavenly Father will have us to seek for His blessing. We must come to Him for it in
and through our Elder Brother. We must come clothed in His “goodly raiment,” even
that pure and spotless robe which He wrought for us on Calvary. There is no other
way under heaven whereby we can be saved. And if you ask me by what means we are
to get this goodly raiment—this pure and spotless righteousness, I answer, simply by
asking for it. “Ask,” says your God and Saviour, “and you shall have.” And although it
cost Him a great price—even His own precious blood—yet He offers it to you without
money and without price. Oh, go to Him, then, and ask Him for this precious gift; for
“the gift of God is eternal life.” (E. Harper, B. A.)

90. Isaac blessing Jacob
1. That parents ought to bless their children; too many do curse, and not bless them.
2. Children ought to fear the causeful curses of their parents. The better son feared
the curse of his father (Gen_27:12).
3. Parents ought rather to gather a stock of Divine promises, that they may bless
their children more out of faith than out of form, praying for them out of a promise,
as Isaac did then for his son Jacob, praying that the blessing of Abraham might come
upon him (Gen_28:4).
4. A wishing our children’s weal customarily without a praying for them believingly,
is neither enough for parents, nor is it all (or at all) that is warranted by Isaac’s
blessing Jacob here. There is much difference between a formal wish and a faithful
prayer for their good.
5. Spiritual blessings must be sought and sued for in their proper season. Here Esau
came too late for the blessing, which was bestowed before he lost the right season
(which is a part of time above all other parts, even the shine and lustre of time), so
could not obtain it, no, not with tears Heb_12:16-17). (C. Ness.)
26
Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my
son, and kiss me."
1. Barnes, “Gen_27:26-29
He gives the kiss of paternal affection, and pronounces the benediction. It contains,
first, a fertile soil. “Of the dew of heaven.” An abundant measure of this was especially
precious in a country where the rain is confined to two seasons of the year. “Of the
fatness of the earth;” a proportion of this to match and render available the dew of
heaven. “Corn and wine,” the substantial products, implying all the rest. Second, a
numerous and powerful offspring. “Let peoples serve thee” - pre-eminence among the
nations. “Be lord of thy brethren” - pre-eminence among his kindred. Isaac does not
seem to have grasped the full meaning of the prediction, “The older shall serve the
younger.” Third, Prosperity, temporal and spiritual. He that curseth thee be cursed, and
he that blesseth thee be blessed. This is the only part of the blessing that directly
comprises spiritual things; and even this of a special form. It is to be recollected that it
was Isaac’s intention to bless Esau, and he may have felt that Esau, after all, was not to

91. be the progenitor of the holy seed. Hence, the form of expression is vague enough to
apply to temporal things, and yet sufficiently comprehensive to embrace the infliction of
the ban of sin, and the diffusion of the blessing of salvation by means of the holy seed.
2. Gill, “And his father Isaac said unto him,.... After he had eat and drank, and the
repast was over, and all were took away:
come near now, and kiss me, my son; which was desired either out of affection to
him, excited by this instance of preparing such savoury and agreeable food; or else
having some suspicion still, and willing to have more satisfaction before he proceeded
further to bless, from the smell of his breath, and of his garments,
3. Henry 26-29, “Now let us see how Isaac gave Jacob his blessing, Gen_27:26-29. (1.)
He embraced him, in token of a particular affection to him. Those that are blessed of God
are kissed with the kisses of his mouth, and they do, by love and loyalty, kiss the Son,
Psa_2:12. (2.) He praised him. He smelt the smell of his raiment, and said, See, the
smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed, that is, like that of
the most fragrant flowers and spices. It appeared that God had blessed him, and
therefore Isaac would bless him. (3.) He prayed for him, and therein prophesied
concerning him. It is the duty of parents to pray for their children, and to bless them in
the name of the Lord. And thus, as well as by their baptism, to do what they can to
preserve and perpetuate the entail of the covenant in their families. But this was an
extraordinary blessing; and Providence so ordered it that Isaac should bestow it upon
Jacob ignorantly and by mistake, that it might appear he was beholden to God for it, and
not to Isaac. Three things Jacob is here blessed with: - [1.] Plenty (Gen_27:28), heaven
and earth concurring to make him rich. [2.] Power (Gen_27:29), particularly dominion
over his brethren, namely, Esau and his posterity. [3.] Prevalency with God, and a great
interest in Heaven: “Cursed by every one that curseth thee and blessed be he that
blesseth thee. Let God be a friend to all thy friends, and an enemy to all they enemies.”
More is certainly comprised in this blessing than appears prima facie - at first sight. It
must amount to an entail of the promise of the Messiah, and of the church; this was, in
the patriarchal dialect, the blessing: something spiritual, doubtless, is included in it.
First, That from him should come the Messiah, who should have a sovereign dominion
on earth. It was that top-branch of his family which people should serve and nations bow
down to. See Num_24:19, Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, the star
and sceptre, Gen_27:17. Jacob's dominion over Esau was to be only typical of this,
Gen_49:10. Secondly, That from him should come the church, which should be
particularly owned and favoured by Heaven. It was part of the blessing of Abraham,
when he was first called to be the father of the faithful (Gen_12:3), I will bless those that
bless thee; therefore, when Isaac afterwards confirmed the blessing to Jacob, he called it
the blessing of Abraham, Gen_28:4. Balaam explains this too, Num_24:9. Note, It is the
best and most desirable blessing to stand in relation to Christ and his church, and to be
interested in Christ's power and the church's favours.
4. Calvin, “.Come near now, and kiss me. We know that the practice of kissing was
then in use, which many nations retain to this day. Profane men, however, may say,
that it is ludicrous for an old man, whose mind was already obtuse, and who

92. moreover had eaten and drunk heartily, should pour forth his benedictions upon a
person who was only acting a part. (47) But whereas Moses has previously recorded
the oracle of God, by which the adoption was destined for the younger son, it
behoves us reverently to contemplate the secret providence of God, towards which
profane men pay no respect. Truly Isaac was not so in bondage to the attractions of
meat and drink as to be unable, with sobriety of mind, to reflect upon the divine
command given unto him, and to undertake in seriousness, and with a certain faith
in his own vocation, the very work in which, on account of the infirmity of his flesh,
he vacillated and halted. Therefore, we must not form our estimate of this blessing
from the external appearance, but from the celestial decree; even as it appeared at
length, by the issue, that God neither vainly sported, nor that man rashly proceeded
in this affair: and, truly, if the same religion dwells in us which flourished in the
patriarch’s heart, nothing will hinder the divine power from shining forth the more
clearly in the weakness of man.
5. Criswell, “In the Bible, thirty-nine times in the Old Testament is the word
nashaq meaning “to kiss”; in the ew Testament, phileo, which usually means “to
love in a friendly way”—three times it is translated “kiss”; in the ew Testament,
kataphileo, “to kiss tenderly” is used six times; in the ew Testament philema, the
word for “kiss” is used seven times. In the Old Testament, a few times “to kiss” is
used in poetic imagery. For example, in Ezekiel three, the prophet says he saw the
wings of the cherubim and they nashaq—translated in the King James Version
—“they touched each other”; literally Ezekiel wrote, “the wings of the cherubim
folded and kissed each other.” There is a beautiful, beautiful verse in Psalm 85 and
10: Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace kissed each other.
There is a verse in Proverbs 44 and verse 26: Every man shall kiss his lips who
giveth a right answer.
In the Talmud, one of the most beautiful poetic descriptions, I think in human
speech is the Midrash in the last chapter of Deuteronomy on the death of Moses.
And the rabbi said in that Midrash that Moses died with the kiss of God upon his
lips.
We might say it like this: God kissed the breath of Moses away. So I point out a few
times in the Old Testament, the word kiss is used in a poetic and a symbolic and
imagery sense.
But practically all of the time, indeed, I think all of the other instances outside of
these they just pointed out, the word refers to a caress of the lips. And the first time
the word nashaq the kiss is used in the Bible is in the passage that I just read in the
27th chapter of the Book of Genesis.
And it is one of those strong, strange providences that this first use of the word is
two-fold. There are two sides to a kiss. One can be a kiss of deception and

93. seduction, an artful ploy of hypocrisy, feigning a love that is no wise felt. And, of
course, the other can be the kiss of tenderest sympathy and love and purity and
faithfulness. In the Bible nashaq sometimes is used to describe a ploy, a seduction
and deception and hypocrisy. For example, in the Second Samuel is the story of
Absalom as he stole the hearts of the men of Israel away from David and mounted a
rebellion against him. And the way Absalom did it, the Bible says, was when a man
came to Jerusalem for any cause, to lay a cause before the king, Absalom
intercepted him—met him and kissed him, and said, “Would God I were king in
Israel.” In that same Second Samuel, the use of that word “kiss” in deception.
When Absalom mounted his rebellion, he made Amasa captain of the hosts of the
army that fought against David and almost won [2 Samuel 17:25]. Joab was the
captain of the hosts of the army of David, and in the large, generous, graciousness of
David—in seeking to heal the breach in Israel—he made Amasa leader of the army
of Absalom his own captain of the hosts and displaced Joab. So when Joab met
Amasa, Joab took Amasa’s face as though he was graciously kissed the face of
Amasa. But Amasa did not notice that under a fold of his garment, Joab had a
sword. And when Joab kissed Amasa, he pulled out that sword and ran him
through. And Amasa died wallowing—the Bible says—in his own blood [2 Samuel
20:1-12].
The kiss of deception and subtlety and seduction, in the seventh chapter of the Book
of Proverbs, the wise man says, I discerned among you a young man passing
through the streets—
in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and the dark night.
And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart. .
. .
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him. . . .
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, . . . .
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning. Let us soak ourselves with loves.
. . .
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the kiss of her lips. . , .
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as the fool to the
correction of the stocks;
Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not
that it is for his life” [Proverbs 7:9-23].

94. The kiss of the harlot, one of seduction. And of course, the most famous kiss in the
world, I suppose, when Judas said to the Sanhedrin: He whom I kiss, it is he. Seize
him, hold him fast [Mark 14:44]. And in the nighttime, Judas leads the band from
the temple court and he meets the Lord with his apostles and he says: Hail, Master.
And kissed him. And the Lord said: Judas, you betray your Lord with a kiss?
[Luke 22:47, 48]. The kiss was also in the Old Testament a sign of adoration and the
worship of an idol. Do you remember when Elijah said: And I, and I only Lord, am
left. Do you remember what the Lord said? Elijah, “I have reserved for me seven
thousand who have not bowed a knee to Baal nor have kissed him” [1 Kings 19:18].
In the Book of Job the thirty-first chapter, Job pleading his integrity says, I have
never kissed my hand toward the sun and the moon” [Jib 31:26, 27]. And in the
thirteenth chapter of the Book of Hosea, Hosea describes the apostasy of Israel in
saying that they were kissing the golden calves at Bethel and at Dan [Hosea 13:1,2].
So there are tragically so, instances where the kiss is one of apostasy and subtlety
and seduction.
But there is another side of this caress of the human heart, and this is the kiss that
we love to think of in its truth and in its purity and in its goodness and in its
preciousness. First, the kiss of personal endearment and personal love. This is the
basis of marriage and the home and the generations. In the story of Jacob, who
came to Heron, into the house of Rebekah’s brother named Laban, Jacob sees
Rachel who is described as a beautiful girl. And the Bible says: And Jacob kissed
Rachel. In the Song of Solomon, the first verse and the text of the song—“The Song
of songs, which is Solomon’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth [Song o
Solomon 1:1, 2]. There is not a more beautiful poem in the English literature than
“[Asolando:] Summum Bonum,” the highest greatest good, written by Robert
Browning. Do you remember it?
All the breath and the bloom of the year in the bag of one bee:
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem:
In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea:
Breath and bloom, shade and shine, --wonder, wealth,
and—how far above them—
Truth that's brighter than gem,
Trust, that's purer than pearl, --
Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe--all were for me
In the kiss of one girl.
[Robert Browning, “Asolando: Summum Bonum”]
Beautiful. How true. The kiss also in the Bible—the sweet love of a family. When
Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he first kissed Benjamin. Then he
kissed all of the sons of Jacob his brothers. And all of us are moved by the pathos
and compassion of the father, in Luke 15, who welcomes back the prodigal son.
And he saw his boy from afar and ran to meet him and kissed him. There is a kiss

95. of friendship in the Bible. Moses worked for Jethro for forty years. And when
Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, Jethro met him and Moses kissed him.
When Samuel anointed Saul, after the anointing oil was poured on the head of
Samuel the young man—was poured on the head of Saul the young man, Samuel
kissed the young fellow. And one of the moving instances in the life of David, when
David fled before Absalom and the rebellion against him, he crossed over Jordan.
And on the east side was a Gileadite named Barzillai. His name means “son of
iron.” And Barzillai fed David and his armies while he was fleeing from Absalom.
And when Absalom was defeated and David crossed back over Jordan to Jerusalem,
he asked old Barzillai to go with him. And Barzillai said, I am four-score years old
—I am eighty years of age. and I ought to stay with my people, be buried by my
father and my mother, but my prayers and love will go with you, said old Barzillai.
And when time came for David to pass over Jordan, the Book says he kissed
Barzillai, his old friend.
So the kiss came also to be a gesture of sweet farewell and parting. When the family
of Jacob returned back to Canaan, Laban kissed his daughter Rachel and Leah and
their children. One of the sweetest stories in the Bible is the story of Ruth. And
Orpah kissed Ruth and went back. But Ruth clave to her—Orpah kissed aomi.
But Ruth clave to her mother-in-law and accompanied her to her new home in
Bethlehem. When David was sent away from the court of Saul, Jonathon kissed
David goodbye. When Elijah called Elisha into the prophetic ministry, Elisha said:
Let me first kiss my father and my mother goodbye. And this beautiful scene in the
life of Paul after he had spoken to the Ephesian elders who have met him on the
seashore at Miletus, the twentieth chapter of Acts closes, “And when Paul had thus
spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell
on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake,
that they should see his face no more” [Acts 20:36-38].
And not only the kiss of farewell in life. But there was a kiss of farewell in death. In
the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, when Jacob—when Israel died, Israel charged
his sons and said unto them: I am to be gathered now to my people. Bury me with
my fathers in the grave that is in the field of Ephraim the Hittite. There they buried
Abraham and Sarah. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah. And there I buried
Leah. And when Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, he yielded up the
spirit. And the Bible, he was gathered unto his people, he died. ow the next verse,
“And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him”
[Genesis 50:1]—the kiss of a final farewell.
Then of course, in the Bible there is the kiss of reverence and of worship and of
gratitude to God. The second Psalm is a messianic Psalm. It describes the glory of
the coming of our Lord. And in that second Psalm, the singer speaks of those who
are gathered against the Lord. But he admonishes us, “Kiss the Son. . . . Blessed are
all they that put their trust in him” [Psalm 2:12]. And you have a poignantly
beautiful example of that when our Lord was seated in the home of Simon the
Pharisee. And as the custom was in that day, they leaned on the table on which they

96. broke bread and their feet were out in the aisle. And while the Lord was eating,
there came a gentle woman. And she broke an alabaster box over the Lord, and
anointed his feet and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet—
reverence and gratitude and worship of our dear Lord. And thus it came to pass,
that the admonition of our Savior through your great apostle and author of most of
the Books of the ew Testament lies in that kind of a personal admonition. Paul
would write in [chapter] sixteen of Romans, verse sixteen, ”Salute one another with
a holy kiss” [Romans 16:16]; and he writes the same thing in 1 Corinthians 16:20;
and the same admonition in 2 Corinthians 13:12; and the same admonition in 1
Thessalonians 5:26; and the same admonition is written by the apostle Peter in 1
Peter 5:14: “Greet ye one another—salute one another with a holy kiss, the kiss of
love and charity and communion. Thus it is that the Holy Scriptures and the
apostle Paul to the churches admonishes us to be kind and thoughtful and gracious
and loving and tender and full of encouraging remembrance for each other. We
belong to the body of Christ. We are one in his precious name; and as such, we are
to reflect ever the tender, compassionate and loving spirit of our wonderful savior.
That is the Christian life and the Christian heart and the Christian attitude.
I read of a woman, a godly Christian woman. She was standing with a throng, a
crowd before a heavy iron gate. Beyond was a police station and a police court and
a temporary prison. And the crowd that was gathered there, some were standing
out of curiosity—some had relatives on the inside. And among them, this godly
woman. As they stood there, the great iron gate began to part. It began to open.
And there was heard the heavy shuffling of feet. And above the din and the noise,
the shrill scream of a woman. And soon, there appeared as the gate continued to
open, a policemen on this side and a policemen on that side, holding a screaming
woman who filled the air with her oaths and her curses. Her hair was dirty and
unkempt and matted. She had a heavy bruise on her right temple, and her dress
was dirty and torn. As they dragged that screaming, cursing woman through the
gates, and in front of this godly Christian woman, she thought, “What could I do?”
To sing a song would have been ridiculous. To pray, there was no time. To read a
Scripture would have been no good. To give her money, she could not have received
it. And suddenly, as though it were an inspiration from heaven, as though an angel
of God suggested it; suddenly she went forward and held the woman’s face in her
hand and kissed her face. It may have been the startling and astonishment of the
officers that released their grasp, or it could have been a superhuman effort on the
part of the visitors, but she wrenched herself loose and raised her hand to heaven
and said, “Oh God, who kissed me? o one has kissed me like that since my mother
when I was a small child.” She looked around and said, “Who kissed me?” And
with many sobs, the officers took her to the van and to the penitentiary. In the days
that followed, this godly woman went to the penitentiary and asked to see that
inmate. The warden replied, “We think she has lost her mind, for she does nothing
but ask, Who kissed me? And when each one of us walk into the cell, she asks, Who
kissed me?” The warden said, “You are so welcome.”
So they opened the door to the cell, and this godly woman entered in. And that

97. prisoner said, “Do you know who kissed me?”
And the gracious Christian friend said, “Why do you ask?”
And the reply, the woman said, “When I was seven years of age, my widowed
mother died in a dark basement on the back side of an alley. Just as she died, she
called me and drew me to her side and said, Oh, my poor little girl, what will
become of you? May God take care of you. And she put her head upon my face and
kissed me. o one ever kissed me like that until that day when they were dragging
me through the gate of that police station, and that some body who kissed me, kissed
me as my dear mother did when I was seven years old. Who kissed me?”
And the woman said, “It was I. It was I.” And she spoke to her of the love of the
Lord to whom her mother had commended the child years ago; brought her to a
sweet, saving knowledge of the blessed Jesus. And the rest of the story—a model
prisoner; clean and pure and forgiven. She led many, many, many of the other
inmates in that woman’s prison to a saving knowledge of our Lord. I do not deny
that once in a while you will find somebody who has been won to Christ by the
preacher’s service. But having been a pastor over half a century, I have learned
through the years, practically all of us who have been won to the Lord, have been
won through the sweet, tender kindness and remembrance of a godly mother or a
precious friend or somebody who cared, was interested, was compassionate, who led
us to the face of our savior. That is how we ought to be—always interested,
compassionate. And if there is aught that we can do to help, that ought to be our
commitment and our life as a Christian.
I think of you sweet people—homebound. We have a dear fellow minister in our
church named Floyd Chapin. And every week, he goes out to the True Home and
spends the day with those sweet people in the True Home. In how many ways do I
see people in this church who are thoughtful and kind and prayerful and gracious
and compassionate. That is what it is to be like Jesus. And when Jesus saw the
people, he had compassion upon them. He was moved with compassion. I think
Jesus moved with compassion is his endearing name. And when we are most like
him, we are most like that—thoughtful and prayerful and interested. And if there is
a burden that we can share, if there is a prayer that we can pray, if there is
something by which we can help, may God use us to be that blessing to you. And
out of all of the things that any one of us might be able to do, the most beautiful and
beloved of all would be this—that we bring you in faith, in love, in trust to our living
Lord.
Oh, that it might be this morning—the family, you; or just a couple, you; or just
one, some body, you—open his heart to the tender, loving grace of our dear Savior.
And today, that you might answer his call with your life. ow, may we stand for the
prayer.
Our Lord who looks down upon us from heaven, if there have ever been times when

98. we have been calloused or hardened or unsympathetic or unthoughtful, may the
Lord forgive us. And help us to be more like Thee. Oh, Lord, nobody ever asked of
Thee and You turned them away. Always with the feeling of our infirmities, and
your heart has not changed even though you are in heaven—the Lord of the
universe. Still thine arms extended wide and welcome to us, our friend our savior.
And our Lord, we pray that this holy and beautiful and precious moment, would be
a time when many would come to thee and to us.
And while our people pray, and while we wait before God—out of that balcony,
you; in the press of people on this lower floor, you; down a stairway, down an aisle.
God has spoken to me Pastor, and today I am responding. I am answering with my
life. Bring the family, or just you. So Lord, sanctify and hallow as only God could
do the appeal of this morning hour and Thy saving and forgiving and keeping name,
amen.
ow, as our men stand here in welcome, and as our people pray and wait, and as we
sing this hymn of appeal, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” Out of the balcony;
down one of these aisles, make that decision for the Lord. And welcome, thrice
welcome. While we pray and while we sing.
6.6.6.6. RAY PRITCHARD, “The Dirty Deed What happens next is so well-known that it
hardly needs repeating. Jacob, wearing the goatskins prepared by his mother, carries the
tasty food to the father. Isaac, although he is old and decrepit, senses that something is
wrong. His mind tells him that Esau couldn't have gotten the wild game so fast and the
voice doesn't sound like Esau.
Note the many ways that Jacob deceives his father:
1. Deliberate Deception. "I am Esau your firstborn."
2. Blasphemy. "The Lord your God gave me success."
3. Repeated Deception. "Are you really my son Esau?" "I am," he replied.
4. Dishonest Intimacy. "So he went to him and kissed him."
5. Misleading Detail. "Isaac caught the smell of his clothes."
But this should not surprise us. This is what happens whenever you set off on the path of
deception. This follows whenever you say, "It doesn't matter how we do it." Jacob's lies
are bound to happen because he decided that the end justifies the means. Soon one lie
leads to another and then another and finally you have to keep on lying to cover up your
previous lies.
The Blessing In any case, Isaac sets his doubts aside and gives Jacob (thinking he is
Esau) the blessing. The blessing basically involves three things:
1. Personal Prosperity (v. 28)
2. Pre-eminence (v. 29)

99. 3. Protection by God (v. 29)
In essence Jacob now receives from Isaac the blessing revealed in the Abrahamic
covenant.
One other note. In this scenario, who is deceiving whom? On one hand, Jacob is
definitely deceiving his father Isaac. However, Isaac—because he thinks Jacob is really
Esau—thinks he is deceiving Jacob by giving the blessing to Esau. Both intend to deceive
the other; only Jacob succeeds. The most amazing point is that through this act of
deception, God's will was done! Why? Because God's choice (Jacob) did in fact end up
with the blessing. That doesn't justify the deception, but it does demonstrate how God
works through the weakness of sinful men to accomplish his purposes.
This story, seen in that light, is a story of the sovereignty of God. It reminds me of the
words Joseph utters many years later: "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
(Genesis 50:20) Both Isaac and Jacob had less than noble motives, but God overruled
their bad motives to insure that his will was ultimately done
27
So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught
the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah,
the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the
LORD has blessed.
The smell and the touch said he was Esau, and so the sound of his voice that said
he was Jacob came in second. Two out of three ain’t bad was his conclusion, and
so he went with his two senses that agreed he must be Esau.
V. 27 Isaac still had a good nose and like the smell of the field. Mcgee tells of
two men working in a tight place and one said, “Wow! I think the deodorant
one of us is using has quite working. The other said, “It must be yours because I
don’t use any.”
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 27. As the smell of a field.] Compare Song of Solomon 2:13;
Song of Solomon 4:12-14. Aristotle (a) writes of a parcel of ground in Sicily that
sendeth such a strong smell of fragrant flowers to all the fields and pasturages
thereabouts, that no hound can hunt there, the scent is so confounded by the sweet

100. smell of those flowers. Labour we so to resent heavenly sweetnesses, so to savour the
things above, that we may have no mind to hunt after earthly vanities, &c.
Alexander’s body is said to be of such an exact constitution, that it gave a sweet
scent where it went. Christ, the true body, smells so sweet to all heavenly eagles,
that, being now lifted up, he draws them after him. [Matthew 24:28 John 12:32]
2. Clarke, “The smell of my son is as the smell of a field - The smell of these
garments, the goodly raiment which had been laid up in the house, was probably
occasioned by some aromatic herbs, which we may naturally suppose were laid up with
the clothes; a custom which prevails in many countries to the present day. Thyme,
lavender, etc., are often deposited in wardrobes, to communicate an agreeable scent, and
under the supposition that the moths are thereby prevented from fretting the garments. I
have often seen the leaves of aromatic plants, and sometimes whole sprigs, put in eastern
MSS., to communicate a pleasant smell, and to prevent the worms from destroying them.
Persons going from Europe to the East Indies put pieces of Russia leather among their
clothes for the same purpose. Such a smell would lead Isaac’s recollection to the fields
where aromatic plants grew in abundance, and where he had often been regaled by the
scent.
3. Gill, “And he came near, and kissed him,.... Jacob came near and kissed Isaac
his father:
and he smelled the smell of his raiment; which being not like the smell of a sheep
coat, but of a field, might give him more full satisfaction that it was truly Esau:
and he blessed him; with his patriarchal and prophetic blessing, which here begins:
and said, see, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord
hath blessed; like a field fall of fragrant herbs, flowers, and spices, watered with the
dews and rain of heaven, and so made fruitful, which emits a most, delightful odour; this
may respect the scent of Esau's clothes, now on Jacob's back, which they received from
the fields, which Esau continually frequented; or rather from the odoriferous herbs and
fruits which were put among them in the chest, in which Rebekah had laid them up; and
it may be, that whereas the goatskins on his hands and neck would be apt to send forth a
rank and disagreeable smell, these might be so scented by Rebekah as to prevent that.
Some render these words, "see the smell of my son, whom the Lord hath blessed (w), as
the smell of a field"; and so Isaac pronounces him blessed of the Lord, as well as by
himself; the sense is the same: as to the smell many interpreters consider this as a type
and figure of the acceptance of believers with God, being clothed with the goodly,
excellent, and desirable garment of the righteousness of Christ their elder brother, even
of their persons, services, and sacrifices; which is indeed truly spiritual and evangelical;
but is liable to this objection, that it makes profane Esau a type of Christ. I see not that
anything can well be objected to the application of this son of Isaac's to the Messiah
himself, whom he may have a special regard unto in this prophetic blessing, reading the
words, "the smell of my son shall be as the smell of a field": or "my son, whom the Lord
hath blessed", and came before with all the blessings of goodness, and in whom all
nations shall be blessed, shall be "as the smell of a field"; all whose garments smell of
myrrh, aloes, and cassia, Psa_45:8, even Isaac's principal son, that should be of his seed,

101. of whom Jacob his present son was a type, and who was to spring from him.
4. Calvin, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field. The allegory of
Ambrose on this passage is not displeasing to me. Jacob, the younger brother, is
blessed under the person of the elder; the garments which were borrowed from
his brother breathe an odour grateful and pleasant to his father. In the same
manner we are blessed, as Ambrose teaches, when, in the name of Christ, we
enter the presence of our Heavenly Father: we receive from him the robe of
righteousness, which, by its odour, procures his favor; in short, we are thus
blessed when we are put in his place. But Isaac seems here to desire and
implore nothing for his son but what is earthly; for this is the substance of his
words, that it might be well with his son in the world, that he might gather
together the abundant produce of the earth, that he might enjoy great peace, and
shine in honor above others. There is no mention of the heavenly kingdom; and
hence it has arisen, that men without learning, and but little exercised in true
piety, have imagined that these holy fathers were blessed by the Lord only in
respect to this frail and transitory life. But it appears from many passages to have
been far otherwise: and as to the fact that Isaac here confines himself to the
earthly favors of God, the explanation is easy; for the Lord did not formerly set
the hope of the future inheritance plainly before the eyes of the fathers, (as he
now calls and raises us directly towards heaven,) but he led them as by a
circuitous course. Thus he appointed the land of Canaan as a mirror and pledge
to them of the celestial inheritance. In all his acts of kindness he gave them
tokens of his paternal favor, not indeed for the purpose of making them content
with present good, so that they should neglect heaven, or should follow a merely
empty shadow, as some foolishly suppose; but that, being aided by such helps,
according to the time in which they lived, they might by degrees rise towards
heaven; for since Christ, the first-fruits of those who rise again, and the author of
the eternal and incorruptible life, had not yet been manifested, his spiritual
kingdom was, in this way, shadowed forth under figures only, until the fullness of
the time should come; and as all the promises of God were involved, and in a

102. sense clothed in these symbols, so the faith of the holy fathers observed the
same measure, and made its advances heavenwards by means of these earthly
rudiments. Therefore, although Isaac makes the temporal favors of God
prominent, nothing is further from his mind than to confine the hope of his son to
this world; he would raise him to the same elevation to which he himself aspired.
Some proof of this may be drawn from his own words; for this is the principal
point, that he assigns him the dominion over the nations. But whence the hope of
such a dignity, unless he had been persuaded that his race had been elected by
the Lord, and, indeed, with this stipulation, that the right of the kingdom should
remain with one son only? Meanwhile, let it suffice to adhere to this principle, that
the holy man, when he implores a prosperous course of life for his son, wishes
that God, in whose paternal favor stands our solid and eternal happiness, may be
propitious to him.
5. WESLEY 20. The Lord thy God brought it to me - Is this Jacob? It is certainly
written not for our imitation, but our admonition, Let him that, standeth, take heed
lest he fall. ow let us see how Isaac gave Jacob his blessing. 27-1. He kissed him; in
token of particular affection to him. Those that are blessed of God are kissed with
the kisses of his mouth, and they do by love and loyalty kiss the son, Psalm ii, 12. 2.
He praised him. Upon occasion of the sweet smell of his garments he said, See the
smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed - That is, like
that of the most fragrant flowers and spices. Three things Jacob is here blessed with,
(1.) Plenty, ver. 28. Heaven and earth concurring to make him rich. (2.) Power, ver.
29. Particularly dominion over his brethren, viz. Esau and his posterity. (3.)
Prevalency with God, and a great interest in heaven, Cursed be every one that
curseth thee - Let God be a friend to all thy friends, and an enemy to all thine
enemies. ow, certainly more is comprised in this blessing than appears at first; it
must amount to an entail of the promise of the Messiah: that was in the patriarchal
dialect the blessing; something spiritual doubtless is included in it. First, That from
him should come the Messiah, that should have a sovereign dominion on earth. See
um. xxiv, 19. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, the star and
scepter, um. xxiv, 17. Jacob's dominion over Esau was to be only typical of this,
chap. xlix, 10. Secondly, That from him should come the church that should be
particularly owned and favoured by Heaven. It was part of the blessing of Abraham
when he was first called to be the father of the faithful, chap. xii, 3. I will bless them
that bless thee; therefore when Isaac afterwards confirmed the blessing to Jacob, he
called it the blessing of Abraham, chap. xxviii, 4.

103. 6. HOLE, “Mankind is endowed with five senses, as we all know. One of the five was
lacking with poor Isaac. Sight being gone, he was shut up to the other four, and this
striking story shows that all the four were exercised. Rebekah's clever cookery
presented the flesh of the kids as though it were venison, so his taste was deceived.
Her production of Esau's garments, putting them on Jacob, was effectual in
deceiving his sense of smell. Her plan of covering Jacob's hands and neck with the
hairy skin of the slain kids was equally successful in deceiving his powers of feeling.
One sense remained, that of hearing, and Isaac recognized the voice as that of
Jacob. It was a case of three senses against one. Three senses declared that the son
he could not see was Esau, and only one declared that it was Jacob. Isaac accepted
the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.
,
with which they could easily be supplied from Arabia, famed for aromatic herbs: though
perhaps the common flowers and odoriferous herbs of the country were most in use: and
in these it is not improbable those garments (the sacerdotal, as we suppose) were kept.
Isaac, no stranger to the smell of them, thence concluded that they belonged to his son
Esau; and from this circumstance of their odour, he takes occasion to begin his
benediction. By See, the smell, &c. some suppose the old patriarch to express, that the
smell of his son's garments was as grateful and pleasing as that of a field, which the Lord
hath blessed; that is, hath made fertile in all useful produce. See Hebrews 6:7. While
others again suppose that he asserts, See, the smell is, &c. i.e..behold, the odour of my
son's apparel resembles that of a field blest with fertility by the Lord, a field full of
flowers and odoriferous herbs. By the word full, I refer to ‫מלא‬ male, which is found in the
Samaritan, &c. and is much defended by Houbigant.
28
May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's
richness-- an abundance of grain and new wine.
1. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 28. God give thee of the dew.] For that country was dry and
thirsty. They had rain, say some, but twice a year; the former in seedtime, and the
latter rain in May. The blessings here bestowed are plenty, victory, domestical
preeminency, and outward prosperity. Esau likewise hath the like, but not with a
God give thee. But beyond all these, "some better thing" was provided and
promised. Erant enim speculum, et pignus coelestium. The Church of Rome
borrows her mark from the market plenty, or cheapness, &c.; she vaunts of her
temporal felicity, and makes a catalogue of the strange victories which the Catholics

104. have had. Immo vix unquam fuerunt Haeretici superiores, quando iusto proelio
dimicatum est, saith Bellarmine. (a) Upon one of the Easter holidays, saith George
Marsh, martyr, Master Sherburn and Master More sent for me, persuading me
much to leave mine opinions, saying, all the bringers up and favourers of that
religion had ill luck, and were either put to death, or in prison, and in danger of life.
(b) Again, the favourers of the religion now used, had wondrous good luck and
prosperity in all things. These wizards, these "disputers of this world," as the
apostle calls them, [1 Corinthians 1:20] either knew not, or believed not, that the
Church is the heir of the Cross, Ecclesia haeres Crucis, as an ancient speaketh; that
opposition is, as Calvin wrote to the French king, Evangelii genius , - the bad genius
that dogs the gospel; that truth breeds hatred, (c) as the fair nymphs did the ill
favoured fawns and satyrs, and seldom goes without a scratched face. Some
halcyons the Church hath here, as in Constantine’s time ( Repugnante contra
temetipsam tua faelicitate, saith Salvian, in his first book to the Catholic Church);
but grace she shall be sure of here, "with persecution"; and glory hereafter without
interruption. As for outward things, aut aderunt sane, aut non oberunt; either she
shall have them, or be as well without them. God shall be her cornucopia; her All-
sufficient; her "shield and exceeding great reward." Sine Deo, omnis copia est
egestas.
2. Clarke, “God give thee of the dew of heaven - Bp. Newton’s view of these
predictions is so correct and appropriate, as to leave no wish for any thing farther on the
subject.
“It is here foretold, and in Gen_27:39, of these two brethren, that as to situation, and
other temporal advantages, they should be much alike. It was said to Jacob: God give
thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and
much the same is said to Esau, Gen_27:39 : Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of
the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. The spiritual blessing, or the promise of
the blessed seed, could be given only to One; but temporal good things might be
imparted to both. Mount Seir, and the adjacent country, was at first in the possession of
the Edomites; they afterwards extended themselves farther into Arabia, and into the
southern parts of Judea. But wherever they were situated, we find in fact that the
Edomites, in temporal advantages, were little inferior to the Israelites. Esau had cattle
and beasts and substance in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his own accord;
but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been such a barren
and desolate country as some would represent it. The Edomites had dukes and kings
reigning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. When the Israelites, on
their return, desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, it appears that the
country abounded with Fruitful Fields and Vineyards: Let us pass, I pray thee, through
thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we
drink of the water of the wells; Num_20:17. And the prophecy of Malachi, which is
generally alleged as a proof of the barrenness of the country, is rather a proof of the
contrary: I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of
the wilderness, Mal_1:3; for this implies that the country was fruitful before, and that its
present unfruitfulness was rather an effect of war, than any natural defect in the soil. If
the country is unfruitful now, neither is Judea what it was formerly.” As there was but
little rain in Judea, except what was termed the early rain, which fell about the beginning
of spring, and the latter rain, which fell about September, the lack of this was supplied by

105. the copious dews which fell both morning and evening, or rather through the whole of
the night. And we may judge, says Calmet, of the abundance of those dews by what fell
on Gideon’s fleece, Jdg_6:38, which being wrung filled a bowl. And Hushal compares an
army ready to fall upon its enemies to a dew falling on the ground, 2Sa_17:12, which
gives us the idea that this fluid fell in great profusion, so as to saturate every thing.
Travellers in these countries assure us that the dews fall there in an extraordinary
abundance.
The fatness of the earth - What Homer calls ουθαρ αρουρης, Ilias ix., 141, and Virgil
uber glebae, Aeneid i., 531, both signifying a soil naturally fertile. Under this, therefore,
and the former expressions, Isaac wishes his son all the blessings which a plentiful
country can produce; for, as Le Clerc rightly observes, if the dews and seasonable rains of
heaven fall upon a fruitful soil, nothing but human industry is wanting to the plentiful
enjoyment of all temporal good things. Hence they are represented in the Scripture as
emblems of prosperity, of plenty, and of the blessing of God, Deu_33:13, Deu_33:28;
Mic_5:7; Zec_8:12; and, on the other hand, the withholding of these denotes barrenness,
distress, and the curse of God; 2Sa_1:21. See Dodd.
3. Gill, “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,.... Or "shall" or "will give
thee" (x), seeing he was blessed of God, and the blessed seed should spring from him, as
well as his posterity should inherit the land of Canaan; for this is said rather by way of
prophecy than wish, and so all that follow; and the dew of heaven is the rather
mentioned, not only because that makes the earth fruitful on which it plentifully falls,
but likewise because the land of Canaan, the portion of Jacob's posterity, much needed
it, and had it, for rain fell there but seldom, only twice a year, in spring and autumn; and
between these two rains, the one called the former, the other the latter rain, the land was
impregnated and made fruitful by plentiful dews; and these signified figuratively both
the doctrines and blessings of grace, which all Jacob's spiritual offspring, such as are
Israelites indeed, are partakers of, and especially under the Gospel dispensation, see
Deu_32:2,
and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and such the land of
Canaan was, a fat and fertile land, abounding with all good things, see Deu_8:8; by
which are figured the plenty of Gospel provisions, the word and ordinances, which God
has given to his Jacob and Israel in all ages, as he has not given to other people, and
especially in the times of the Messiah, Jacob's eminent seed and son, see Psa_147:19.
4. Jamison, “Gen_27:28-46. The blessing.
God give thee of the dew of heaven — To an Oriental mind, this phraseology
implied the highest flow of prosperity. The copious fall of dew is indispensable to the
fruitfulness of lands, which would be otherwise arid and sterile through the violent heat;
and it abounds most in hilly regions, such as Canaan, hence called the “fat land”
(Neh_9:25, Neh_9:35).
plenty of corn and wine — Palestine was famous for vineyards, and it produced
varieties of corn, namely, wheat, barley, oats, and rye.

106. 5. Calvin, "Cursed be every one that curseth thee. What I have before said must be
remembered, namely, that these are not bare wishes, such as fathers are wont to
utter on behalf of their children, but that promises of God are included in them; for
Isaac is the authorized interpreter of God, and the instrument employed by the Holy
Spirit; and therefore, as in the person of God, he efficaciously pronounces those
accursed who shall oppose the welfare of his son. This then is the confirmation of
the promise, by which God, when he receives the faithful under his protection,
declares that he will be an enemy to their enemies. The whole force of the
benediction turns to this point, that God will prove himself to be a kind father to his
servant Jacob in all things, so that he will constitute him the chief and the head of a
holy and elect people, will preserve and defend him by his power, and will secure his
salvation in the face of enemies of every kind.
6. COKE, “Genesis 27:28. God give thee, &c.— It is here foretold, and in Genesis 27:39 of
these two brethren, that, as to situation and other temporal advantages, they should be much alike.
It was said to Jacob, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
corn andWINE : and much the same is said to Esau, Genesis 27:39. Behold, thy dwelling shall be
of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. The spiritual blessing,INDEED ,
or the promise of the blessed Seed, could be given only to one; but temporal good things might be
communicated to both. Mount Seir, with the adjacent country, was at first the possession of the
Edomites: they afterwards extended themselves farther into Arabia, as they did also into the
southern parts of Judea. But wherever they were situated, we find, in fact, that the Edomites, in
temporal advantages, were for many ages little inferior to the Israelites. Esau
had cattle, and beasts, and substance in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his
ownACCORD : but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been such a
barren and desolate country as some would represent it. (ch. Genesis 36:6-8.) The Edomites had
dukes and kings reigning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in AEgypt. When the Israelites,
in their return out of AEgypt, desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, it appears that
the country abounded with fruitful fields and vineyards; Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country:
we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the
wells, Numbers 20:17. If the country be barren and unfruitful now, so neither is Judea what formerly
it was. The face of any country is much changed in a long course of years; and it is totally a different
thing when a country is regularly cultivated by inhabitants living under a settled government, than
when tyranny prevails, and the land is left desolate. It is frequently seen that God, as the Psalmist
says, (Psalms 107:34.) turneth a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell
therein.
The dew of heaven— In those warm countries where rain commonly falls but at two seasons of the
year, viz. about April and October, hence called the former and the latter rain, Deuteronomy
11:14 the copious fall of the morning and evening dews in a great measure supplied the place of
rain; though the name dewmay well be supposed to include rain, which is only a more copious dew.
But as both are so necessary to fructify the earth, especially in thirsty climates, hence they are
represented in Scripture as emblems of plenty, prosperity, and the blessing of God, Deuteronomy
13:18. Micah 5:7. Zechariah 8:12. And, on the other hand, the withholding of these denotes
barrenness, distress, and the curse of God, 2 Samuel 1:21.Haggai 1:10.
The fatness of the earth— What Homer calls ουθαρ αρουρης, and Virgil, uber glebae. Under
this, therefore, and the former expression, Isaac wishes his son all the blessings which a plentiful
country can produce. For, as Le Clerc observes, if the dews and seasonable rains of heaven fall
upon a fertile soil, nothing but human industry is wanting to the plentiful enjoyment of all temporal
good things. And this prophetic prayer was remarkably answered, by God's settling the Israelites in
the possession of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.

107. 29
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your
mother bow down to you. May those who curse you
be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
29. Let people serve thee--fulfilled in the discomfiture of the hostile tribes that opposed the Israelites
in the wilderness; and in the pre-eminence and power they attained after their national establishment in
the promised land. This blessing was not realized to Jacob, but to his descendants; and the temporal
blessings promised were but a shadow of those spiritual ones, which formed the grand distinction of
Jacob's posterity.
1. Clarke, “Let people serve thee - “However alike their temporal advantages were to
each other,” says Bp. Newton, “in all spiritual gifts and graces the younger brother was to
have the superiority, was to be the happy instrument of conveying the blessing to all
nations: In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed; and to this
are to be referred, in their full force, those expressions: Let people serve thee, and
nations bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that
blesseth thee. The same promise was made to Abraham in the name of God: I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, Gen_12:3; and it is here repeated
to Jacob, and thus paraphrased in the Jerusalem Targum: ‘He who curseth thee shall be
cursed as Balaam the son of Beor; and he who blesseth thee shall be blessed as Moses the
prophet, the lawgiver of Israel.’ It appears that Jacob was, on the whole, a man of more
religion, and believed the Divine promises more, than Esau. The posterity of Jacob
likewise preserved the true religion, and the worship of one God, while the Edomites
were sunk in idolatry; and of the seed of Jacob was born at last the Savior of the world.
This was the peculiar privilege and advantage of Jacob, to be the happy instrument of
conveying these blessings to all nations. This was his greatest superiority over Esau; and
in this sense St. Paul understood and applied the prophecy: The elder shall serve the
younger, Rom_9:12. The Christ, the Savior of the world, was to be born of some one
family; and Jacob’s was preferred to Esau’s, out of the good pleasure of Almighty God,
who is certainly the best judge of fitness and expedience, and has undoubted right to
dispense his favors as he shall see proper; for he says to Moses, as the apostle proceeds to
argue, Rom_9:15. ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ And when the Gentiles were converted to
Christianity, the prophecy was fulfilled literally: Let people serve thee, and let nations
bow down to thee; and will be more amply fulfilled when the fullness of the Gentiles shall
come in, and all Israel shall be saved.”

108. 2. Gill, “Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee,.... Which was
literally true in the times of Joshua and the judges, when the Canaanites were conquered
and subdued, and those that remained became tributary to the Israelites; and still more
so in the times of David, a son of Jacob, in the line of Judah, when the Philistines,
Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, and Edomites, became subject to him, his servants and
tributaries; and yet more so in the times of the Messiah that was to spring from Jacob,
and did, to whom many nations have been already subject, and all will in the latter day,
Psa_72:11. And this passage is applied to the Messiah, and his times, by the Jews, in an
ancient book (y) of theirs, at least said to be so. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it
of the children of Esau or the Edomites, and of the children of Keturah; and that of
Jerusalem, of the children of Esau, and of Ishmael:
be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee; these
seem rather to be the children of Esau, Jacob's brother, and his mother's sons; the
Targum of Jerusalem interprets the latter of the sons of Laban, his mother's brother, the
Arabians and Syrians; which will be more fully accomplished when the kingdoms of this
world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, Rev_11:15; who will then
appear to be King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev_17:14, even the King of the whole
earth:
cursed be everyone that curseth thee; it signifies, that those who were the enemies
of Jacob, or would be the enemies of the church and people of God, his spiritual Israel,
and of the Messiah, would be reckoned the enemies of God, and treated as such:
and blessed be he that blesseth thee; and that those that were his friends, and the
friends of the people of God, and heartily wish well to the interest of Christ, these should
be accounted the friends of God, and be used as such. The same blessing is pronounced
on Abraham the grandfather of Jacob, Gen_12:3.
3. Jamison, “Let people serve thee — fulfilled in the discomfiture of the hostile tribes
that opposed the Israelites in the wilderness; and in the pre-eminence and power they
attained after their national establishment in the promised land. This blessing was not
realized to Jacob, but to his descendants; and the temporal blessings promised were but
a shadow of those spiritual ones, which formed the grand distinction of Jacob’s posterity.
4. COKE, “Genesis 27:29. Let people serve thee, &c.— However alike their temporal
advantages were to be, the younger brother was to have the superiority in all spiritual gifts, was to
be the happy instrument of conveying the blessing to all nations: In thee and in thy Seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed:and to this are to be referred in their full force those
expressions, let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee; cursed be every one that curseth
thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. The same promise was made to Abraham by the Lord, I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, ch. Genesis 12:3. and it is here
repeated to Jacob, and is thus paraphrased in the Jerusalem Targum, "He who curseth thee shall
be cursed, as Balaam the son of Beor; and he who blesseth thee shall be blessed, as Moses the
prophet, the lawgiver of Israel." It appears that Jacob was a man of much more religion, and
believed the divine promises more than Esau. ThePOSTERITY of Jacob likewise preserved
the true religion, and the worship of the one true God, while the Edomites were sunk in idolatry. And

109. of theSEED of Jacob was born at last the Saviour of the world. This was the peculiar privilege
and advantage of Jacob, to be the happy instrument of conveying these spiritual blessings to all
nations. This was his greatest superiority over Esau; and in this sense St. Paul understands and
applies the prophecy,the elder shall serve the younger, Romans 9:12. The Christ, the Saviour of the
world, was to be born of some one family: and Jacob's was preferred to Esau's out of the good
pleasure of Almighty God, who is certainly the best Judge of fitness and expedience, and hath
undoubted right to dispense his favours as he shall see proper; for he saith to Moses, (as the
apostle proceeds to argue, Romans 9:15.) I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion. And when the Gentiles were converted to
Christianity, the prophecy was fulfilled literally, Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to
thee; and will more amply be fulfilled, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and all Israel
shall be saved.
5. What we see in the betrayal of Isaac by his wife and son Jacob is the trying to do
the will of God by trickery rather than letting God work it out His way. It is like the
jumping ahead with Sarah and giving Abraham another woman to give him a son
and not waiting for God to do it his way. It was God’s plan to make Jacob the one
He would use to form His people, but He would have done it differently than the
way they chose. Man is always fouling things up by not waiting for God.
Sanford justifies Rebekah by saying she was following a higher law by betraying her
husband and eldest son, and she was doing the will of God. But there is no way to
know if she was doing His will or not. It seems as likely that she was running out
ahead of God rather than waiting for Him to work it out. It cost her the son she
loved to do what she did.
Jacob was the one who got the blessing, but his life seemed more like the one who
got the curse. His family life was terrible. His wife Leah was jealous of his wife
Rachel because he loved her; Rachel was jealous because Leah gave him more
children; the hired women were jealous of both. There was constant tension in the
home. It was like Wharton says in his book Famous Men of the Old Testament
about a woman who was a widow with several children who married a man with
several of his own, and they had some together. She said, “I am just wretched. Some
of your children, and some of my children, are all the time fighting with some of our
children.”
Deathbed words were considered to be especially effective, and even prophetic, and
were treated very seriously. (See Genesis 48.1 etc; Deuteronomy 33.1 etc; 2 Samuel
23.1 etc).
‘Be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you.’ He is to
have pre-eminent place in the family tribe. Perhaps he has in mind the words,
‘Kings shall come from you’ (17.6). His son is to be a ‘king’ over his brothers. In
other words he is seeking for his son total pre-eminence. Thus Isaac is seeking to
restore the damage done by the sale of the birthright, not realising that he is in fact
confirming it. It is this perversity that gives some justification to Jacob’s action.
‘Your brothers.’ This is then defined as ‘your mother’s sons’. This suggests that

110. other sons have been born to Rebekah. Alternately it may be that this was a
stereotyped phrase incorporated into the blessing by Isaac (but see verse 37).
‘Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you.’ The
pronouncing of curses and blessings was a common feature of covenants. Abraham
was promised the same thing in 12.3. So Isaac is confirming the covenant promises
on his son. See also umbers 24.9; Deuteronomy 27 and 28.
It is clear that once the blessing is given it cannot be withdrawn. The authority and
promised blessing has been passed on and nothing can change it, ‘yes, and he shall
be blessed’ (verse 33). So did Jacob ensure that he received the full benefit of the
purchased birthright.
30
After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had
scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau
came in from hunting.
1. Barnes, “Gen_27:30-41
Esau’s blessing. Esau comes in, but it is too late. “Who then?” The whole illusion is
dispelled from the mind of Isaac. “Yea, blessed he shall be.” Jacob had no doubt
perpetrated a fraud, at the instigation of his mother; and if Esau had been worthy in
other respects, and above all if the blessing had been designed for him, its bestowment
on another would have been either prevented or regarded as null and void. But Isaac now
felt that, whatever was the misconduct of Jacob in interfering, and especially in
employing unworthy means to accomplish his end, he himself was culpable in allowing
carnal considerations to draw his preference to Esau, who was otherwise unworthy. He
knew too that the paternal benediction flowed not from the bias of the parent, but from
the Spirit of God guiding his will, and therefore when so pronounced could not be
revoked. Hence, he was now convinced that it was the design of Providence that the
spiritual blessing should fall on the line of Jacob. The grief of Esau is distressing to
witness, especially as he had been comparatively blameless in this particular instance.
But still it is to be remembered that his heart had not been open to the paramount
importance of spiritual things. Isaac now perceives that Jacob has gained the blessing by
deceit. Esau marks the propriety of his name, the wrestler who trips up the heel, and
pleads pathetically for at least some blessing. His father enumerates what he has done
for Jacob, and asks what more he can do for Esau; who then exclaims, “Hast thou but
one blessing?”
2. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 30. Esau his brother came in.] All too late. Detained he was

111. by the devil, say the Hebrews, who not seldom makes a fool of hunters, and leads
them about. A sweet providence of God there was in it, certainly, that he should
come in as soon as Isaac had done and Jacob was gone, and no sooner. Like as there
was in that which Master Fox (a) reports of Luther, that on a time, as he was sitting
in a certain place upon his stool, a great stone there was in the vault, over his head;
which being stayed miraculously so long as he was sitting, as soon as he was up,
immediately fell upon the place where he sat, able to have crushed him in pieces. A
warrant once came down, under seal, for the execution of the Lady Elizabeth:
Stephen Gardiner was the engineer, and thought he had been sure of his prey, but
God pulled the morsel out of his mouth; for one Master Bridges, mistrusting false
play, presently made haste to the queen, who renounced and reversed it. (b)
Another time, while Sir Henry Benningfield, her keeper, was at court, one Basset, a
gentleman and a great favourite of Stephen Gardiner’s, came, with twenty men well
appointed, to Woodstock to have murdered her. But by God’s great providence, Sir
Henry had left so strict a charge behind him, that no living soul might have access
unto the princess, upon what occasion soever, till his return, that they could not be
admitted, whereby their bloody enterprise was utterly disappointed. "The Lord
knoweth how to deliver his". [2 Peter 2:9] "He keepeth all their bones, not one of
them is broken". [Psalms 34:20]
3. Gill, “And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of,
blessing Jacob,.... So that he had the whole entire blessing, and nothing wanting; and
takes in blessings of all sorts, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, of which the land of
Canaan, and the fruits of it, were typical:
and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father;
which no doubt he made haste to do, as soon as he had got the blessing; partly to avoid
his brother, whom he might expect to come in every moment, and partly to relate to his
mother the success he had met with: or "scarce in going out was gone out" (z), was just
gone out, and that was all; the Targum of Jonathan says, he was gone about two hands'
breadths; that is, out of the door of his father's tent, which was a small space indeed.
Jarchi interprets this doubling of the word, of the one going out and the other coming in
at the same time; but Ainsworth more rightly observes, that it makes the matter the more
remarkable, touching God's providence herein:
that Esau his brother came in from his hunting; and not only was come out of the
field from hunting, but had been at home some time, and had dressed what he had
caught in hunting, and was just coming in with it to his father, as appears from
Gen_27:31.
4. Henry 30-35, “Here is, I. The covenant-blessing denied to Esau. He that made so light
of the birthright would now have inherited the blessing, but he was rejected, and found
no place of repentance in his father, though he sought it carefully with tears,
Heb_12:17. Observe, 1. How carefully he sought it. He prepared the savoury meat, as his
father had directed him, and then begged the blessing which his father had encouraged
him to expect, Gen_27:31. When he understood that Jacob had obtained it

112. surreptitiously, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, Gen_27:34. No man
could have laid the disappointment more to heart than he did; he made his father's tent
to ring with his grief, and again (Gen_27:38) lifted up his voice and wept. Note, The day
is coming when those that now make light of the blessings of the covenant, and sell their
title to them for a thing of nought, will in vain be importunate for them. Those that will
not so much as ask and seek now will knock shortly, and cry, Lord, Lord. Slighters of
Christ will then be humble suitors to him. 2. How he was rejected. Isaac, when first made
sensible of the imposition that had been practised on him, trembled exceedingly,
Gen_27:33. Those that follow the choice of their own affections, rather than the dictates
of the divine will, involve themselves in such perplexities as these. But he soon recovers
himself, and ratifies the blessing he had given to Jacob: I have blessed him, and he shall
be blessed; he might, upon very plausible grounds, have recalled it, but now, at last, he is
sensible that he was in an error when he designed it for Esau. Either himself recollecting
the divine oracle, or rather having found himself more than ordinarily filled with the
Holy Ghost when he gave the blessing to Jacob, he perceived that God did, as it were, say
Amen to it. Now, (1.) Jacob was hereby confirmed in his possession of the blessing, and
abundantly satisfied of the validity of it, though he obtained it fraudulently; hence too he
had reason to hope that God graciously overlooked and pardoned his misconduct. (2.)
Isaac hereby acquiesced in the will of God, though it contradicted his own expectations
and affection. He had a mind to give Esau the blessing, but, when he perceived the will of
God was otherwise, he submitted; and this he did by faith (Heb_11:20), as Abraham
before him, when he had solicited for Ishmael. May not God do what he will with his
own? (3.) Esau hereby was cut off from the expectation of that special blessing which he
thought to have preserved to himself when he sold his birthright. We, by this instance,
are taught, [1.] That it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy, Rom_9:16. The apostle seems to allude to this story. Esau had a good
will to the blessing, and ran for it; but God that showed mercy designed it for Jacob, that
the purpose of God according to election might stand, Rom_9:11. The Jews, like Esau,
hunted after the law of righteousness (Rom_9:31), yet missed of the blessing of
righteousness, because they sought it by the works of the law (Rom_9:32); while the
Gentiles, who, like Jacob, sought it by faith in the oracle of God, obtained it by force, with
that violence which the kingdom of heaven suffers. See Mat_11:12. [2.] That those who
undervalue their spiritual birthright, and can afford to sell it for a morsel of meat, forfeit
spiritual blessings, and it is just with God to deny them those favours they were careless
of. Those that will part with their wisdom and grace, with their faith and a good
conscience, for the honours, wealth, or pleasures, of this world, however they may
pretend a zeal for the blessing, have already judged themselves unworthy of it, and so
shall their doom be.
5. Jamison 30-35, “Esau came in from his hunting — Scarcely had the former scene
been concluded, when the fraud was discovered. The emotions of Isaac, as well as Esau,
may easily be imagined - the astonishment, alarm, and sorrow of the one; the
disappointment and indignation of the other. But a moment’s reflection convinced the
aged patriarch that the transfer of the blessing was “of the Lord,” and now irrevocable.
The importunities of Esau, however, overpowered him; and as the prophetic afflatus was
upon the patriarch, he added what was probably as pleasing to a man of Esau’s character
as the other would have been.
6. K&D 30-40, “Jacob had hardly left his father, after receiving the blessing ( ‫א‬ ָ‫צ‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫ך‬ፍ , was
only gone out), when Esau returned and came to Isaac, with the game prepared, to receive the

113. blessing. The shock was inconceivable which Isaac received, when he found that he had blessed
another, and not Esau-that, in fact, he had blessed Jacob. At the same time he neither could nor
would, either curse him on account of the deception which he had practised, or withdraw the
blessing imparted. For he could not help confessing to himself that he had sinned and brought
the deception upon himself by his carnal preference for Esau. Moreover, the blessing was not a
matter of subjective human affection, but a right entrusted by the grace of God to paternal
supremacy and authority, in the exercise of which the person blessing, being impelled and guided
by a higher authority, imparted to the person to be blest spiritual possessions and powers, which
the will of man could not capriciously withdraw. Regarding this as the meaning of the blessing,
Isaac necessarily saw in what had taken place the will of God, which had directed to Jacob the
blessing that he had intended for Esau. He therefore said, “I have blessed him; yea, he will be
(remain) blessed” (cf. Heb_12:17). Even the great and bitter lamentation into which Esau broke
out could not change his father's mind. To his entreaty in Gen_27:34, “Bless me, even me also, O
my father!” he replied, “Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.” Esau
answered, “Is it that (‫י‬ ִ‫כ‬ ֲ‫)ה‬ they have named him Jacob (overreacher), and he has overreached me
twice?” i.e., has he received the name Jacob from the fact that he has twice outwitted me? ‫י‬ ִ‫כ‬ ֲ‫ה‬ is
used “when the cause is not rightly known” (cf. Gen_29:15). To his further entreaty, “Hast thou
not reserved a blessing for me?” (‫ל‬ ַ‫צ‬ፎ, lit., to lay aside), Isaac repeated the substance of the
blessing given to Jacob, and added, “and to thee (‫ה‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫ל‬ for ְ‫ך‬ ְ‫ל‬ as in Gen_3:9), now, what can I do,
my son?” When Esau again repeated, with tears, the entreaty that Isaac would bless him also, the
father gave him a blessing (Gen_27:39, Gen_27:40), but one which, when compared with the
blessing of Jacob, was to be regarded rather as “a modified curse,” and which is not even
described as a blessing, but “introduced a disturbing element into Jacob's blessing, a retribution
for the impure means by which he had obtained it.” “Behold,” it states, “from the fat fields of the
earth will thy dwelling be, and from the dew of heaven from above.” By a play upon the words
Isaac uses the same expression as in Gen_27:28, “from the fat fields of the earth, and from the
dew,” but in the opposite sense, ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ being partitive there, and privative here, “from = away from.”
The context requires that the words should be taken thus, and not in the sense of “thy dwelling
shall partake of the fat of the earth and the dew of heaven” (Vulg., Luth., etc.).
(Note: I cannot discover, however, in Mal_1:3 an authentic proof of the privative meaning,
as Kurtz and Delitzsch do, since the prophet's words, “I have hated Esau, and laid his
mountains and his heritage waste,” are not descriptive of the natural condition of Idumaea,
but of the desolation to which the land was given up.)
Since Isaac said (Gen_27:37) he had given Jacob the blessing of the super-abundance of corn

114. and wine, he could not possibly promise Esau also fat fields and the dew of heaven. Nor would
this agree with the words which follows, “By thy sword wilt thou live.” Moreover, the privative
sense of ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ is thoroughly poetical (cf. 2Sa_1:22; Job_11:15, etc.). The idea expressed in the words,
therefore, was that the dwelling-place of Esau would be the very opposite of the land of Canaan,
viz., an unfruitful land. This is generally the condition of the mountainous country of Edom,
which, although not without its fertile slopes and valleys, especially in the eastern portion (cf.
Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 552), is thoroughly waste and barren in the western; so that Seetzen says it
consists of “the most desolate and barren mountains probably in the world.”
The mode of life and occupation of the inhabitants were adapted to the country. “By (lit., on)
thy sword thou wilt live;” i.e., thy maintenance will depend on the sword (‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ as in Deu_8:3 cf.
Isa_28:16), “live by war, rapine, and freebooting” (Knobel). “And thy brother thou wilt serve; yet
it will come to pass, as (‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫א‬ ַⅴ, lit., in proportion as, cf. Num_27:14) thou shakest (tossest), thou
wilt break his yoke from thy neck.” ‫,רוּד‬ “to rove about” (Jer_2:31; Hos_12:1), Hiphil “to cause
(the thoughts) to rove about” (Psa_55:3); but Hengstenberg's rendering is the best here, viz., “to
shake, sc., the yoke.” In the wild, sport-loving Esau there was aptly prefigured the character of his
posterity. Josephus describes the Idumaean people as “a tumultuous and disorderly nation,
always on the watch on every motion, delighting in mutations” (Whiston's tr.: de bell Judg 4; 1:1-
21:25; 1). The mental eye of the patriarch discerned in the son his whole future family in its
attitude to its brother-nation, and he promised Edom, not freedom from the dominion of Israel
(for Esau was to serve his brother, as Jehovah had predicted before their birth), but only a
repeated and not unsuccessful struggle for freedom. And so it was; the historical relation of
Edom to Israel assumed the form of a constant reiteration of servitude, revolt, and reconquest.
After a long period of independence at the first, the Edomites were defeated by Saul (1Sa_14:47)
and subjugated by David (2Sa_8:14); and, in spite of an attempt at revolt under Solomon
(1Ki_11:14.), they remained subject to the kingdom of Judah until the time of Joram, when they
rebelled. They were subdued again by Amaziah (2Ki_14:7; 2Ch_25:11.), and remained in
subjection under Uzziah and Jotham (2Ki_14:22; 2Ch_26:2). It was not till the reign of Ahaz that
they shook the yoke of Judah entirely off (2Ki_16:6; 2Ch_28:17), without Judah being ever able
to reduce them again. At length, however, they were completely conquered by John Hyrcanus
about b.c. 129, compelled to submit to circumcision, and incorporated in the Jewish state
(Josephus, Ant. xiii. 9, 1, xv. 7, 9). At a still later period, through Antipater and Herod, they
established an Idumaean dynasty over Judea, which lasted till the complete dissolution of the
Jewish state.
Thus the words of Isaac to his two sons were fulfilled-words which are justly said to have been

115. spoken “in faith concerning things to come” (Heb_11:20). For the blessing was a prophecy, and
that not merely in the case of Esau, but in that of Jacob also; although Isaac was deceived with
regard to the person of the latter. Jacob remained blessed, therefore, because, according to the
predetermination of God, the elder was to serve the younger; but the deceit by which his mother
prompted him to secure the blessing was never approved. On the contrary, the sin was followed
by immediate punishment. Rebekah was obliged to send her pet son into a foreign land, away
from his father's house, and in an utterly destitute condition. She did not see him for twenty years,
even if she lived till his return, and possibly never saw again. Jacob had to atone for his sin against
both brother and father by a long and painful exile, in the midst of privation, anxiety, fraud, and
want. Isaac was punished for retaining his preference for Esau, in opposition to the revealed will
of Jehovah, by the success of Jacob's stratagem; and Esau for his contempt of the birthright, by
the loss of the blessing of the first-born. In this way a higher hand prevailed above the acts of
sinful men, bringing the counsel and will of Jehovah to eventual triumph, in opposition to human
thought and will.
7. Calvin, "Jacob was yet scarce gone out. Here is added the manner in which Esau
was repulsed, which circumstance availed not a little to confirm the benediction to
Jacob: for if Esau had not been rejected, it might seem that he was not deprived of
that honor which nature had given him: but now Isaac declares, that what he had
done, in virtue of his patriarchal office, could not but be ratified. Here, truly, it
again appears, that the primogeniture which Jacob obtained, at the expense of his
brother, was made his by a free gift; for if we compare the works of both together,
Esau obeys his father, brings him the produce of his hunting, prepares for his father
the food obtained by his own labor, and speaks nothing but the truth: in short, we
find nothing in him which is not worthy of praise. Jacob never leaves his home,
substitutes a kid for venison, insinuates himself by many lies, brings nothing which
would properly commend him, but in many things deserves reprehension. Hence it
must be acknowledged, that the cause of this event is not to be traced to works, but
that it lies hid in the eternal counsel of God. Yet Esau is not unjustly reprobated,
because they who are not governed by the Spirit of God can receive nothing with a
right mind; only let it be firmly maintained, that since the condition of all is equal, if
any one is preferred to another, it is not because of his own merit, but because the
Lord has gratuitously elected him.
8. COFFMA , “This blessing was not even a pale copy of the one given to Jacob;
even in the mention of "dew from heaven," etc., there was a double meaning, and in
its use concerning Esau, it meant that he would dwell far away from such blessings.
One may have nothing but pity for the weeping Esau and the bitterness that filled
his heart. othing breaks men's hearts like being compelled, at last, to accept the
consequences of their actions. See Revelation 6:15-17.

116. "This verse (Genesis 27:36) skillfully places the words for birthright and blessing
side by side,"[19]showing with what diligence Esau had attempted to contrive a
difference in the two in the mind of his father, in which he had apparently
succeeded. It was the height of wickedness for Esau to suppose that with the "sale"
of his birthright he did not also convey the patriarchal blessing that went with it.
We believe those scholars are in error who assert, "The first loss had been largely
his own (Esau's) fault, but this time, he was indeed supplanted."[20] This episode
reveals how, "A higher hand prevailed above the acts of sinful men, bringing the
counsel and will of Jehovah to eventual triumph, in opposition to human thought
and will."[21]
The blessing of Esau did allow one small hope, that, on occasions, Edom would be
able to throw off the yoke of Israel. "An example of this was in the reign of Joram,
king of Judah (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10)."[22] Another occasion is
mentioned in the Book of Obadiah (Obadiah 1:1:10). Still another, perhaps, is seen
in the fact that Herod the Great was descended from Esau; and he was ruling Israel
ruthlessly in the days of Christ.
31
He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his
father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and
eat some of my game, so that you may give me your
blessing."
1. Gill, “And he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father,....
Which was made of real venison, or of creatures taken in hunting, and not like Jacob's,
made of other flesh, in imitation of it; for what the Jewish writers (a) say is not to be
regarded, that he was hindered from getting true venison, by angels loosing the deer he
bound; still less what the Targum of Jonathan says, that he killed a dog, made savoury
meat of it, and brought it to his father:
and said unto his father, let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison,
that thy soul may bless me; this address is made by Esau to his father in a very
respectful manner, as became a dutiful son to an aged and honoured parent; who in
obedience to his command had prepared agreeable food for him, and now brought it to
him, in order to receive his blessing, which he had himself proposed to give him upon it.

117. 32
His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am
your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau."
‘Who are you?’ Isaac’s mind is frozen with shock. He cannot believe what he is
hearing.
1. Gill, “And Isaac his father said unto him, who art thou?.... Hearing another
voice more like Esau's than what he had heard before surprised him, and therefore in
haste puts this question:
and he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau; all which was true in a sense; he was
his son, and he was Esau, and he was his firstborn by nature, but not by right, for he had
sold his birthright.
2. Esau’s reply gives away that he knows he is seeking to take something of what he
had sold to Jacob. He is conscious that he is about to receive one of the rights of the
firstborn. But he has sold his birthright. We do not know how far the two would be
seen as officially interconnecting, but we cannot doubt that they do. We must
probably see that Esau’s view is very different from Jacob’s. What he meant by the
contract was far different from what Jacob had intended.
27.33 ‘And Isaac trembled very violently, and said, “Then who is he who has taken
venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have
blessed him. Yes and he shall be blessed.” ’
Isaac is distraught. He realises that he has been deceived. But he is aware, as all are,
that what has been given cannot be taken back. The seal has been made with Jacob,
and the blessing has been given.
Isaac’s words confirm the close connection between the eating and the blessing.
They were all part of the same process, the bonding and then the blessing.
‘Yes, and he shall be blessed.’ There is no going back from what he has done.
27.34 ‘When Esau heard the words of his father he cried with an extremely loud and

118. bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, oh my father.”
Esau too is distraught. All he had hoped for has come to naught. Surely his father
can do something to remedy the situation. Can he not have the blessing as well?
27.35 ‘And he said, “Your brother came with guile and has taken away your
blessing.”
The answer is basically, ‘no’. What he has given he has given. He cannot take it
back or change it.
27.36 ‘And he said, “Is he not rightly called Jacob? For he has supplanted me these
two times. He took away my birthright, and see, now he has taken away my
blessing.”
Esau makes a bitter play on words. The root idea behind the word ‘Jacob’ is
protection. Jacob-el (the el is assumed) means ‘may God protect’. But a secondary
root which indicates supplanting can also be read into the consonants (see on 25.26).
Esau claims to see birthright and blessing as two separate things, but had he
thought it through he would have recognised that he was wrong. For as the wording
of Isaac’s blessing made abundantly clear, in the firstborn’s case they are really two
parts of the one privilege. While it is true that the birthright centred more on
property and official position over the tribe, and the blessing concentrated more on
the giving of something personal, in the case of the firstborn both were
interconnected.
The blessing was specially directed in the light of the birthright. Had Esau received
the blessing and yet yielded to Jacob the birthright both would have been in an
impossible position. And Esau would probably have won, because the blessing
would have been seen as empowering him in a way the birthright did not. If Esau
did not see the implications there can be no doubt that Jacob and Rebekah did.
There is therefore poetic justice in the fact that Esau, who was seeking to supplant
his brother in spite of his oath, finds himself supplanted. Later he would recognise
the justice of it and be reconciled with his brother.
27.37 ‘And Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold I have made him your lord,
and I have given to him all his brothers for servants, and I have sustained him with
corn and wine. And what then shall I do for you, my son?”
Isaac too finds himself helpless. Had he not intended such favour to his elder son
that he gave him everything there would have been something left. But he had
intended to leave nothing for Jacob. So there is nothing left.
It demonstrates what had been the singlemindedness of Isaac’s purpose that he

119. thinks this. He knows what he had intended. Jacob was to be left out of the
reckoning.
‘All his brothers for servants.’ This would seem to confirm that there were other
brothers. Alternately it may signify the whole tribe as ‘brothers’ (consider Genesis
19.7 where it means fellow-citizens; 24.27 where it means kinsfolk; 31.46 where it
means servant companions).
27.38 ‘And Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing my father. Bless me,
even me also, oh my father.” And Esau raised his voice and wept.
In his disappointment and anguish Esau seeks for some crumb of comfort. Is there
nothing that his father can give him? We must recognise that it is some official
benefit that he seeks. His father could easily give him a general blessing.
27.39 ‘And Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, from the fatness of
the earth will be your dwelling, and from the dew of heaven from above. And by
your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother. And it will happen, when
you will break loose, that you will shake his yoke from off your neck.” ’
Isaac grants him one favour. Independence. He will release him from his debt of
servitude to Jacob.
‘From the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and from the dew of heaven
from above.’ ‘From’ here probably means ‘away from’. The fatness of the earth and
the dew of heaven is to be given by God to Jacob (verse 28). But Esau is released
from enjoying it. He may go away from his brother, away from God’s provision.
The land he will go to will not enjoy the same dewfall, and will not be as productive.
‘And by your sword you will live and you will serve your brother.’ His future will be
in warfare and booty. He will be a raider at the head of warriors. ‘You will serve
your brother.’ This may be partly ironic meaning try to give him his deserts. But in
the end it is prophetic and will be fulfilled when Edom becomes subject to Israel (2
Samuel 8.14; Obadiah 1.18-20).
‘And it will be that when you will break loose, that you will shake his yoke from
your neck.’ The submission will not be permanent and in the end Edom will be free
of Israel’s yoke.
Esau does indeed leave home in accordance with the blessing and establishes himself
in the mountainous country of Seir where the dew is scarcer and the land not so
productive. But he gathers a band of warriors (32.6; 33.1), builds up his own tribe,
becomes wealthy in possessions (33.9) and is free to do whatever he wants.
He was a free spirit and he would never have been satisfied leading the family tribe
and being beholden to the inhabitants of Canaan. He found a future which satisfied

120. him and this helps to account for his willingness to forgive Jacob and treat him as a
beloved brother (33.4).
But that is in the future. For the present things begin to look ugly.
27.41 ‘And 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 at hand.
Then will I slay my brother Jacob.” ’
As we have seen earlier, Isaac thought he was near death, and it is clear Esau
thought likewise. ‘The days of mourning for my father are at hand’ means exactly
this. (Probably no one thought that Isaac would linger on another twenty years or
more. But he did, and by the time he died all the differences had been settled).
Thus Esau decides to wait until then before carrying out his plan to kill Jacob. He
does not want to distress his father. But he clearly lets his thoughts be known, for
word gets back to Rebekah and she decides to send Jacob to a place of safety.
27.42-45 ‘And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah, and she sent
and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Look, your brother Esau
consoles himself about you with the thought of killing you. ow therefore, my son,
obey my voice, and arise. Flee to my brother Laban, to Haran. And wait with him a
few days until your brother’s hot fury turns away, until your brother’s anger turns
from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you from
there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
When Rebekah realises what Esau intends to do she decides to send Jacob to a place
of safety. With her son she is honest. He must flee to her brother in Haran until
Esau’s anger has abated. ‘A few days’ is wishful thinking. Even in the best of
circumstances it would take quite some time. Haran is not just round the corner.
But she is trying to make it sound temporary. either she nor Jacob realise that
they will never meet again.
The repetition of the phrase, with slight differences, about Esau’s hot fury stresses
how great a threat it is. But she is confident that the hot fury that has gripped him
will subside, and that eventually even his anger against Jacob will die down and
what has happened will be unimportant. She knows her son and knows that both
will happen. She knows his heart is on other things. (Such repetitions, almost word
for word, are a constant feature of ancient literature).
‘Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?’ If Esau murders Jacob then he
too will become liable to death for fratricide, especially as Jacob is now the heir
apparent. She still has love in her heart for Esau.
However Isaac must be told a different story. o one wants him upset by what is
happening and he must not learn of his elder son’s evil intent. It is clear that he is in

121. his dotage and not up with things. He does not realise the storm that is growing
around him. So Rebekah takes a different tack with him. She wants the initiative for
Jacob’s departure to seem to come from him.
And here we really come to the end of the Isaac stories. All that remains is his
sending Jacob to Haran (28.1), twenty years of silence, and his welcoming back of
Jacob at Mamre (35.27), followed immediately by his death (35.29).
Thus if we ignore the stories describing his childhood, the seeking of Rebekah and
the birth and blessing of his sons, the only account of any length about Isaac is his
activity at Gerar and Beersheba. And this out of one hundred and eighty years of
life. And why is this? Because there were no covenant records.
Isaac passed a peaceable life, first at Beer-lahai-roi (25.11), then at Gerar and
Beersheba (chapter 26), and finally at Mamre (35.27). He experienced few
theophanies and made few covenants worth recording. Thus the silence about his
life.
This demonstrates that the idea that Genesis contains camp fire stories passed
down, with anecdotes about the lives of the patriarchs, just is not true.
33
Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then,
that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just
before you came and I blessed him--and indeed he
will be blessed!"
Verses 30-33: The blessing is confirmed: Jacob gets out with the blessing while
the gettin' is good. He leaves his father thinking that he has gotten away with it.
Perhaps Isaac was getting ready to nod off when the tent flap is opened. "let my
father arise, and eats his son's venison, that your soul may bless me. Esau had
come to collect something that had never belonged to him.
see verse 33: See the margin of the Scofield Bible. Isaac shook like a leaf. He was
shaken to his core. Isaac had acted in the flesh and God overruled him. He was
shaken to the depths of his being. WHO? Where is he that hath taken venison and
brought it to me? Then with the full swelling tide of the Holy Spirit he adds, Yes,
and he shall be blessed.

122. 1. Clarke, “And Isaac trembled - The marginal reading is very literal and proper,
And Isaac trembled with a great trembling greatly. And this shows the deep concern
he felt for his own deception, and the iniquity of the means by which it had been
brought about. Though Isaac must have heard of that which God had spoken to
Rebekah, The elder shall serve the younger, and could never have wished to reverse
this Divine purpose; yet he might certainly think that the spiritual blessing might be
conveyed to Esau, and by him to all the nations of the earth, notwithstanding the
superiority of secular dominion on the other side.
Yea, and he shall be blessed - From what is said in this verse, collated with Hebrews
12:17, we see how binding the conveyance of the birthright was when communicated
with the rites already mentioned. When Isaac found that he had been deceived by
Jacob, he certainly would have reversed the blessing if he could; but as it had been
conveyed in the sacramental way this was impossible. I have blessed him, says he,
yea, and he must, or will, be blessed. Hence it is said by the apostle. Esau found no
place for repentance, µετανοιας γαρ τοπον ουχ εὑρε , no place for change of mind or
purpose in his father, though he sought it carefully with tears. The father could not
reverse it because the grant had already been made and confirmed. But this had
nothing to do with the final salvation of poor outwitted Esau, nor indeed with that of
his unnatural brother.
2. Calvin, “And Isaac trembled very exceedingly (48) Here now again the faith
which had been smothered in the breast of the holy man shines forth and emits
fresh sparks; for there is no doubt that his fear springs from faith. Besides, it is no
common fear which Moses describes, but that which utterly confounds the holy
man: for, whereas he was perfectly conscious of his own vocation, and therefore
was persuaded that the duty of naming the heir with whom he should deposit the
covenant of eternal life was divinely enjoined upon him, he no sooner discovered
his error than he was filled with fear, that in an affair so great and so serious God
had suffered him to err; for unless he had thought that God was the director of
this act, what should have hindered him from alleging his ignorance as an
excuse, and from becoming enraged against Jacob, who had stolen in upon him
by fraud and by unjustifiable arts? But although covered with shame on account
of the error he had committed, he nevertheless, with a collected mind, ratifies the
benediction which he had pronounced; and I do not doubt that he then, as one
awaking, began to recall to memory the oracle to which he had not been
sufficiently attentive. Wherefore, the holy man was not impelled by ambition to be
thus tenacious of his purpose, as obstinate men are wont to be, who prosecute to
the last what they have once, though foolishly, begun; but the declaration, I have
blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed, was the effect of a rare and precious
faith; for he, renouncing the affections of the flesh, now yields himself entirely to
God, and, acknowledging God as the Author of the benediction which he had
uttered, ascribes due glory to him in not daring to retract it. The benefit of this
doctrine pertains to the whole Church, in order that we may certainly know, that
whatever the heralds of the gospel promise to us by the command of God, will be
efficacious and stable, because they do not speak as private men, but as by the

123. command of God himself; and the infirmity of the minister does not destroy the
faithfulness, power, and efficacy of God’s word. He who presents himself to us
charged with the offer of eternal happiness and life, is subject to our common
miseries and to death; yet, notwithstanding, the promise is efficacious. He who
absolves us from sins is himself a sinner; but because his office is divinely
assigned him, the stability of this grace, having its foundation in God, shall never
fail.
3. WESLEY, “Isaac trembled exceedingly - Those that follow the choice of their
own affections rather than the dictates of the Divine will, involve themselves in such
perplexities as these. But he soon recovers himself, and ratifies the blessing he had
given to Jacob, I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed - He might have recalled
it, but now at last he is sensible he was in an error when he designed it for Esau.
Either recollecting the Divine oracle, or having found himself more than ordinarily
filled with the Holy Ghost when he gave the blessing to Jacob, he perceived that God
did as it were say Amen to it.
4. COKE, “Genesis 27:33. Isaac trembled, &c.— It may appear extraordinary, that Isaac should
be so exceedingly alarmed at this event, and yet confirm what he had done;
notWITHDRAWI G the blessing, so deceitfully gained: I have blessed him, yea, and he
shall be blessed. To the common answers taken from Isaac's being convinced of the Divine
interposition, &c. I would add, that every attentive reader must discern, what a great difference in
sense the signs of the future, shall or will, make in our language; a difference to which
the future tense in other languages is a stranger: indeed very often much depends upon the proper
application of these signs. In the present case, instead of shall, read will; and you must immediately
observe, that the passage will have another, and a very just sense; yea, and he WILL be blessed.
God will give him the blessing; it is his design, and I cannot reverse it. Shuckford is of opinion, that
the prophetic Spirit of God at that moment enlightened Isaac's mind, and shewed him God's will.
5. Biblical Illustrator, “Genesis 27:33-40
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
Esau’s cry
No one can read this chapter without feeling some pity for Esau.
All his hopes were disappointed in a moment. He had built much upon this blessing; for
in his youth he had sold his birthright, and he thought that in his father’s blessing he
would get back his birthright, or what would stand in its place. He had parted with it
easily, and he expected to regain it easily, tie thought to regain God’s blessing, not by
fasting and prayer, but by savoury meat, by feasting and making merry.
I. Esau’s cry is the cry of one who has rejected God, and who in turn has been rejected by
Him. He was
(1) profane, and

124. (2) presumptuous.
He was profane in selling his birthright, presumptuous in claiming the blessing. Such as
Esau was, such are too many Christians now. They neglect religion in their best days;
they give up their birthright in exchange for what is sure to perish and make them perish
with it. They are profane persons, for they despise the great gift of God; they are
presumptuous, for they claim a blessing as a matter of course.
II. The prodigal son is an example of a true penitent. He came to God with deep
confession—self-abasement. He said, “Father, I have sinned.” Esau came for a son’s
privileges; the prodigal son came for a servant’s drudgery. The one killed and dressed his
venison with his own hand, and enjoyed it not; for the other the fatted calf was prepared,
and the ring for his hand and shoes for his feet, and the best robe, and there was music
and dancing. (J. H. Newman, D. D.)
Esau’s late repentance
I. The character of Esau has unquestionably a fair side. Esau was by no means a man of
unqualified wickedness or baseness; judged according to the standard of many men, he
would pass for a very worthy, estimable person. The whole history of his treatment of
Jacob puts his character in a very favourably light; it represents him as an open-hearted,
generous person, who, though he might be rough in his manners, fond of a wild life,
perhaps as rude and unpolished in mind as he was in body, had yet a noble soul, which
was able to do what little minds sometimes cannot do—namely, forgive freely a cruel
wrong done to him.
II. Nevertheless, it is not without reason that the apostle styles Esau a profane person.
The defect in his character may be described as a want of religious seriousness; there was
nothing spiritual in him—no reverence for holy things, no indications of a soul which
could find no sufficient joy in this world, but which aspired to those joys which are at
God’s right hand for evermore. By the title of profane the apostle means to describe the
carnal, unspiritual man—the man who takes his stand upon this world as the end of his
thoughts and the scene of all his activity, who considers the land as a great hunting-field,
and makes the satisfaction of his bodily wants and tastes the whole end of living.
III. Esau’s repentance was consistent with his character; it was manifestly of the wrong
kind. Sorrow of this world; grief for the loss of the corn and wine. (Bishop Harvey
Goodwin.)
Esau disappointed of his blessing
I. HE IS OVERWHELMED BY A HEART-RENDING SORROW
II. HE REFERS HIS WRONGS TO THEIR TRUE AUTHOR.
III. HE PLEADS PATHETICALLY WITH HIS FATHER.
IV. HE IS CONTENTED WITH AN INFERIOR BLESSING. God’s blessings without God.
Nothing of heaven enters into it. (T. H. Leale.)
The deceived father and the defrauded son and brother

125. I. ISAAC’S CONDUCT.
1. Remark, first, the double blessing—Jacob’s containing temporal abundance,
temporal rule, and spiritual blessing, the main points plainly being the rights of
primogeniture; Esau’s, in the first part identical with his brother’s, but different
afterwards by the want of spiritual blessing: God’s gifts without God, the fruit of the
earth and the plunder of the sword, but no connection with the covenant of God. Of
course the destinies of Israel and Edom are prefigured in this, rather than the
personal history of Jacob and Esau. For the predicted liberty of Edom, the breaking
the yoke off the neck, did not take place till the reign of Jehoram, long after Esau’s
death 2Ki_8:22). So that when it is written, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated,” the selection of nations to outward privileges is meant, not the irrespective
election of individuals to eternal life. Now in these blessings we have the principle of
prophecy. We cannot suppose that the Jacob here spoken of as blessed was
unmixedly good, nor the Esau unmixedly evil. Nor can we imagine that idolatrous
Israel was that in which all the promises of God found their end, or that Eden was the
nation on whom the curse of God fell unmixed with any blessing. Prophecy takes
individuals and nations as representations for the time being of principles which they
only partially represent. They are the basis or substratum of an idea. For instance,
Jacob, or Israel, represents the principle of good, the Church of God, the triumphant
and blessed principle. To that, the typical Israel, the promises are made; to the literal
Jacob or Israel, only as the type of this, and so far as the nation actually was what it
stood for. Esau is the worldly man, representing for the time the world. To that the
rejection belongs; to the literal Isaac, only so far as he is that.
2. Next observe Isaac’s adherence to his promise. If anything can excuse a departure
from a promise, Isaac might have been excused in this case; for in truth he did not
promise to Jacob, though Jacob stood before him. He honestly thought that he was
speaking to his first-born; and yet, perhaps partly taught to be punctiliously
scrupulous by the rebuke he had received in early life from Abimelech, partly feeling
that he had been but an instrument in God’s hands, he felt that a mysterious and
irrevocable sacredness belonged to his word once past, and said, “Yea, and he shall
be blessed.” Jesuitism amongst us has begun to tamper with the sacredness of a
promise. Men change their creed, and fancy themselves absolved from past promises;
the member of the Church of Rome is no longer bound to do what the member of the
Church of England stipulated. Just as well might the king refuse to perform the
promises or pay the debts of the prince whom he once was. Therefore, let us ponder
over such texts as these. Be careful and cautious of pledging yourself to anything; but
the money you have once promised, the offer you have once made, is irrevocable—it
is no longer yours; it is passed from you as much as if it had been given.
II. ESAU’S CONDUCT.
1. Remark his contentment with a second-rate blessing: “Hast thou not another
blessing?” &c. These words, taken by themselves, without reference to the character
of him who spoke them, are neither good nor evil. Had Esau meant only this: God
has many blessings, of various kinds; and looking round the circle of my resources, I
perceive a principle of compensation, so that what I lose in one department I gain in
some other; I will be content to take a second blessing when I cannot have the first.
Esau would have said nothing which was not praiseworthy and religious; he would
have only expressed what the Syro-Phoenician woman did, who observed that though
in this world some have the advantages of children, whereas others are as little
favoured as dogs, yet that the dogs have the compensatory crumbs. But it was not in

126. this spirit at all that Esau spoke. His was the complaining spirit of the man who
repines because others are more favoured than he; the spirit of the elder son in the
parable, “thou never gavest me a kid.” This character transformed outward
disadvantages into a real curse. For, again I say, disadvantages are in themselves only
a means to more lustrous excellence. But if to inferior talents we add sloth, and to
poverty envy and discontent, and to weakened health querulousness, then we have
indeed ourselves converted non-election into reprobation; and we are doubly cursed
—cursed by inward as well as outward inferiority.
2. Remark Esau’s malice (verse 41). “The days of mourning for my father are at hand,
then will I slay my brother Jacob.” Distinguish this from the resentment of righteous
indignation. Resentment is an attribute of humanity in its original, primal state. He
who cannot feel indignant at some kinds of wrong has not the mind of Christ.
Remember the words with which he blighted pharisaism—words not spoken for
effect, but syllables of downright, genuine anger; such expressions as peculiarly
belong to the prophetic character, in which indignation blazes into a flame; the
prophetic writings are full of it. Very different from this was Esau’s resentment.
Anger in him had passed into malice; private wrong had been brooded on till it had
become revenge, deliberate and planned vindictiveness. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Esau and the blessing
I. This narrative SUGGESTS A WARNING AGAINST THE UNDER-VALUING OF
PRIVILEGE.
II. This narrative SUGGESTS THAT GOD IS ABLE TO BLESS EVERY DESIRING SOUL.
Eternal life for all. See the inexhaustible nature of the Divine riches exemplified in—
1. The vast numbers who have been made partakers of it already passed from mortal
sight.
2. The multitudes on their way at this moment to the same heavenly kingdom who
have “ obtained like precious faith.”
III. This narrative REMINDS US THAT ONE MAY SEEK THE BLESSING TOO LATE.
Though Esau obtained at last a blessing, he did not realize the blessing. (F. Goodall, B.
A,)
The cry of one man representing the wail of many
I. There is here THE SENSE OF AN IMMENSE LOSS. A holy character is the highest
birthright. We have all to lament the loss of this.
II. THE SENSE OF A GREAT INJURY. Victimized by his own brother. Far worse to bear
than an injury from an enemy.
III. THE SENSE OF REMORSE.
IV. THE SENSE OF APPROACHING HOPELESSNESS. Conclusion:
1. What we have all lost. Our birthright—the image of God.
2. What we should all chiefly struggle for. The restoration of the Divine image. Our
loss is not, like Esau’s, irremediable. We can, by faith in Christ, regain it. (Homilist.)

127. The repentance of Esau
I. CERTAINLY WE ARE NOT TO GATHER HENCE THAT ANY TRUE PENITENT CAN
TURN TO GOD AND BE REJECTED OF HIM. ESAU’S rejection was no such
contradiction of God’s love as the rejection of any one weeping penitent upon earth
would surely be. For, first, there is about Esau’s very cry itself, loud and bitter as it was,
no sign of true penitence; and, next, when he uttered it, so far as that which he had then
lost is concerned, his day of probation was already over, his time of trial closed, his hour
of judgment come. There is doubtless, as we shall see hereafter, a true counterpart of this
before every impenitent man, with horrors aggravated above any which waited upon
Esau’s sentence, as far as time is exceeded by eternity, and temporal disadvantage by the
death of the enduring soul. But there is not one word in it to make any one who, in this
his day of grace, turns to the Lord, and cries to him for cleansing and for pardon, doubt
the full certainty of a most gracious acceptance by Him who suffered the woman that was
a sinner to wash His blessed feet with her tears, and to wipe them with the hair of her
head.
II. This, then, certainly is not the lesson which is taught us here; but just as certainly IT
IS THAT WE, TOO, MAY CAST AWAY GOD’S MERCY TO US; that we, the true children
of promise, bred in the family of One greater than Isaac—that we, the inheritors of a
birthright greater far than Jacob sought for or Esau despised—that we, the children of
God’s grace, may reject His grace, and cast profanely from us our more blessed
birthright. Such awful cases the experience of every parish priest has, I suppose, brought
before him. I have seen them and have trembled. I have seen the fearful paroxysms of a
loud and violent despair. I have seen what is more awful still, the obstinate sinner,
calmly, deliberately, determinately put from himself the hope of salvation, and declare
that in a few hours he shall be in hell. And so indeed it must be. For if this were not so,
what could the warning mean, “Look diligently, test any man fail of the grace of Christ.”
Surely it must mean that the time of hopeless lamentation will come to every obstinate
despiser of God’s grace; that His Spirit does not always strive with any man—that there is
a limit to the trial of every man. Can we not, as we gaze with awe upon the fearful picture,
see in some measure why this doom is irreversible? For must it not of necessity happen
that the very perfection of this miserable wickedness sets the seal of hopeless
continuance upon such spiritual wretchedness? For such a spiritual being with such a
nature must hate the good; must, above all, hate supremely God, the All-Good; must see
in Him the highest and most absolute conceivable contradiction of itself, and so must
recoil infinitely from Him, and in recoiling from Him must choose the evil with an ever-
renewed iteration and ever-increasing intensity of choice. Nor does the perfection of the
misery which such a soul endures at all incline it to any breath of penitence; it only
deepens the blackness and the malignity of its despair. There is nothing in itself
purifying in suffering.
III. But if we would learn one true lesson from this portion of God’s Word, we must not
only note the general warning of looking diligently lest we fall from God’s grace, but we
must see further AGAINST WHAT SPECIAL FORMS OF EVIL THIS WARNING IS
PECULIARLY DIRECTED. And indeed, for many here, as everywhere, this is a lesson
needing very signally to be learned. For remember what were Esau’s circumstances and
Esau’s trial. Born to the inheritance of a certain birthright, exercising, as to his first title
to it, no volition regarding it; having centred in his own person the mysterious privileges
which ordinarily belonged to the first-born son of the heir of promise—he cast these

128. away; not from special or marked depravity of character, but from yielding to the
temptations of appetite.
This one special attribute of sensuality is clearly shadowed forth in this example; we see
its direct tendency to lead to delaying repentance until true repentance is impossible. For
its gratifications fill for a season, and occupy the degraded soul. Thus the first drawings
of the blessed Spirit are resisted, His first tender motions on the soul are quenched; and
it is in yielding to these, instead of resisting them, that there is the only possibility of any
true repentance. So it was with Esau, when, under the overmastering impulse of a
sensual temptation, he was led to cast all good away—for “thus Esau despised his
birthright.” Surely the application is too explicit to be missed. Is not the warning plain
against exactly that whole class of sins of the real guilt of which the world takes least
account? Is it not as much as saying that indulged sensuality does build up barriers
against true repentance, which are all but impassable? Does it not meet the man
possessed, by natural endowment, of high spirits, of frankness, of cheerfulness, of all that
makes him a popular companion—with strong passions, with great powers of enjoyment
—who flings himself freely into life, is the leader of a set, and, from there being a certain
look of generosity about his vices, is lauded perhaps for his unselfishness; who has
naturally a far more attractive character than the less courageous, less spirited, less
frank, more self-conscious, more self-watchful man beside him? doest it not meet this
man in his hours of sensual temptations, and say, Thou hast a birthright, beware of
despising it, beware of bartering it? Does it not say to him, “Thou, too, art a son of
Abraham”? yea, and more, “Thou art a son of Christ”; without thy choice, before thy
knowledge, of God’s mere love and mercy, that blessed privilege was made thine. His
love yearned over thine infancy, His Spirit has striven with thy youth, His care is
watching over thee now, and thou, too, art tempted to barter these inestimable blessings
for the mess of pottage. In thee, too, appetite craves for indulgence; before thine eyes a
sensuous fancy paints her glowing pictures of the mad delight of gratified desire, of the
feast, of the revel, of the impure orgy, of the satisfied sense. All these she sets before thee,
and thy spirit, faint often and weary in this struggle, whispers to thee, Lo! I die in this
abstinence; and what good shall this birthright do me? Oh, then beware—for then is the
tempter nearest, closest, most dangerous. Then, under the form of what he whispers to
thee is a common practice, a slight evil, the yielding to an irresistible temptation; then is
he tempting thee, too, after this example of the old profaneness of Esau, to despise thy
birthright. Nor can you tell that in any one of these allowed instances of sensual
indulgence you may not actually sell your birthright. It is the very secret of the power of
the temptation, that in each separate instance it looks so inconsiderable in its future
consequence, compared with the pressing urgency of the present desire. It is the gusty
impulsiveness of your nature which exposes you so certainly to the danger. You become
profane without knowing it; you meant but to gratify appetite, and lo! for appetite you
have bartered your soul. Here, then, is God’s warning to you. He sets, from the
beginning, the end before you. He shows you what such conduct really is, and whither it
must lead you. He lets you hear the loud and bitter cry. (Bp. S. Wilberforce.)
Lessons
I. To respect and reverence old age, and commiserate its infirmities.
II. To cultivate a spirit of truth, honesty, and honour in our dealings.
III. To shun every occasion of household strife.

129. IV. To seek the blessing of our heavenly Father, in the full confidence that all He has
given to others has not so impoverished Him that there is not a blessing left for us. (J. C.
Gray.)
The blessing
An accurate view of individual history—the history of real life—is always interesting.
I. THE FACTS HERE STATED.
1. Notice the individuals concerned; these are, Isaac and Rebekah, and their twin
sons, Esau and Jacob. Isaac was the child of promise, given to Abraham in his old
age, through whom the blessing pronounced on Abraham was to descend to an
innumerable multitude. He married Rebekah, his cousin, the grand-child of
Abraham’s brother; and the offspring of their union were these twin children, Esau
and Jacob. All that is recorded of the parents impresses us with the conviction of
their piety. In the short notices of their life, we observe that, with sufficient evidence
of their partaking of human infirmity, we have abundant testimony to their
devotional habits, their submission to the dispensations of Providence, their
peaceable and liberal disposition, and their prosperity under the blessing of the Lord.
Esau and Jacob, their children, were characters widely differing from each other.
2. The blessing that Jacob obtained. It was a blessing which was inherent in the
posterity of Abraham, and which one of the sons of Isaac was consequently to inherit.
3. The means which were used for the obtaining of this blessing. Isaac was on the
point of conferring the blessing of the first-born upon Esau, contrary to the Divine
intimation, contrary to the warrantable expectations of Rebekah, and contrary to
those predilections which she seems to have cherished for the younger son, and
which his regular and domestic habits appear to have strengthened. Acting under the
influence of unbelief, she immediately suggested to Jacob the plan of supplanting his
brother by fraud. Jacob’s objections appear to have been those of prudence rather
than of principle; they yielded to a mother’s earnest entreaties; and the result shows
him to be no inapt scholar in the ways of deception. There is something very
humiliating in the whole of Jacob’s interview with his father. Every succeeding step is
marked with grosser hypocrisy and deeper guilt; and though, in the mysterious
providence of God, the promised blessing was permitted to rest on his head, yet the
guilt of that scene must afterwards have been like a barbed arrow in his conscience,
and given increased severity to many of his subsequent sufferings. The promise was
given to Isaac with this recognition of Abraham’s character, “Abraham obeyed My
voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Isaac did
the same. He entered into the spirit of the covenant, and lived a life of obedience. On
what reasonable ground, therefore, could Esau, knowing this, expect the blessing? He
was a “profane person, a fornicator,” a mere sensualist. It is in this light, therefore,
that we should regard him, and by these things that we must measure his tears.
II. The circumstances that have come before us suggest SOME VERY IMPORTANT AND
USEFUL PRACTICAL REMARKS. We notice—
1. The evil of parental partialities. The selection of one child for favouritism is
altogether inconsistent with the sacredness of parental duty, and with the strict
justice which is essential to parental discipline. In the present instance, the fondness
of Isaac for his first-born, and of Rebekah for her younger child, led both themselves

130. and their children into sin.
2. The fearful results of one deviation from rectitude. One vice entails another. One
instance of error or untruth frequently places a man in circumstances in which he is
led to commit many to bring him off without suspicion; and he who tells one lie will
not scruple much, in a very short time, blasphemously to call the name of God to
witness it. “And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.” Let every one,
then, beware how he approaches the first appearances of evil, or oversteps in the
least degree the line of propriety. “We cannot hope to be preserved when we have
placed ourselves in questionable circumstances; and we have not strength to keep
ourselves.
3. The character of the over-ruling providence of God. It was said of Jacob and Esau,
“the elder shall serve the younger.” But the ways of God are very mysterious. The
same result is brought about by a series of natural events, on which we could not
have calculated; events, however, which are in no respect the results of an absolute
fatalism, but which are seen to arise fairly out of the elements of character and habits
of the parties concerned. “we see each character developed in its peculiarities by the
course which it is permitted to pursue; and to each, in the sovereignty of Divine
Providence, a moral discipline is applied, calculated to forward the best interests of
the soul.
4. The melancholy character of the sorrow of the world. While, therefore, the
afflictions of Jacob, though they were the consequences of his sins, led him to draw
near to God in his solitude, the grief of Esau was merely the regret consequent on
worldly disappointment. The privation of the blessing of the first-born was only
lamented by him as the ruin of his best earthly hopes. It was the downfall of his
ambition. It was a limit prescribed to his indulgences. It was merely that sorrow
which often seizes on ungodly men in the course of Providence, and in which they
know not where to turn for consolation, because they will not turn to God.
5. Observe the immeasurable extent of the Divine compassion. It is only on the
mercy of God that Jacob or Esau, or any character similar to either, can rest a sure
and certain hope of deliverance at last. (E. Craig.)
Godly and worldly sorrow
I suppose that when we read the account of Esau’s grief, of his affecting appeal to his
father and of its ill success, we begin to think it an instance of the fruitlessness of
repentance. Those who have thrown away God’s gifts of grace, who have despised them
in former days, and sold them for some mess of pottage, who are now wishing to have
them back and to return to God, are apt to be disheartened and dismayed by such a
passage in God’s Word. The fear springs up lest they also should find no answer to their
prayers, lest theirs should be fruitless tears, lest the cry should be made by them in yam,
“Bless me also, O my Father.” But however natural such thoughts from the first
impression of the scene, a closer study of the passage may serve to drive away the clouds.
We may learn to see that there was something wrong and faulty in Esau’s sorrow, great
as it was, something in the nature of his distress of mind not altogether satisfactory or
right. If we examine his conduct at the time, we fail to see any religious element in it at
all. It was a worldly sorrow, a burst of natural but worldly grief; there was no confession
of his former sin, no acknowledgment that the blessing had been justly lost, no word of
self-condemnation, no avowal like the penitent thief upon the cross, that he, indeed, was

131. justly suffering for past misdeeds, and was reaping as he had sown; no allusion to his
faithlessness, to his contempt of the promise of God in selling his birthright for the mess
of pottage, no turning to God, no mention of God at all, or of God’s just anger for his past
offence. And hence we may conclude that he took a mere worldly view of his loss, that he
felt mere worldly sorrow—sorrow for the loss of some temporal advantages to himself
and his descendants, and perhaps mingled with this keen sense of worldly
disappointment—sorrow at having missed a father’s benediction, especially as he
believed it, in his case, to carry with it some unusual power. If this is a right view of
Esau’s state of mind, we see at once that he is not to be regarded as a true penitent, that
he is not presented to us as such, and that therefore no feelings of true penitence are to
be chilled or checked in their growth by the treatment which he received. The great truth
still stands out as clearly as ever, quite unclouded by any instance in Scripture to the
contrary, that God does receive back the penitent; that godly sorrow, if it lead on to the
after acts and fuller development of repentance, never rends our hearts in vain; not in
vain does any wandering child of God draw near, and kneeling down at the foot of the
cross exclaim, “Bless me also, O my Father.” Whenever the sorrow of the heart is true
godly sorrow, and the conscience-stricken bow themselves in genuine compunction at
the mercy-seat of God, mercy comes forth from the throne of God, and the penitent is
blessed. But all sorrow—and it is this which the history of Esau impressively proclaims—
is not godly sorrow, and has not its blessed fruit. Men may grieve over losses, disasters,
reverses brought on them through sin, without grieving altogether for the sin, without
being grieved and angry with themselves for sinning. And what harder burden to bear
than this worldly sorrow, when the heart is dry and dead to the influence of grace, when
the soul has no light in its dark place, when God is not confessed in time of trial, when
chastisements for sin fail to create the sense of sin, or to break the will of the disobedient
child, when there is no mark of the Cross of Christ, but when it is the fruitless cross of the
world, which cannot heal? If we are in any suffering, under any trial through
transgressions, whether lately or long since done, we can find blessings springing up
amid the thorns, should we own the hand of God and sorrow after a godly sort; but if we
steel our hearts, and go through trial without taking it as from our Saviour’s hands,
without owning “rod lamenting the sins and errors and neglects, the worldliness and the
foolishness from which the trial grew, then indeed it is a heavy weight to bear, and there
is a still heavier burden to be laid upon us hereafter. (Bp. Armstrong.)
Esau, the man of nature
While in Jacob’s conduct the high and noble aims which he pursued were in most
discordant contrast with the ungenerous means which he employed, Esau was
fluctuating and contradictory within himself; though the general tone of his mind was
indifference to spiritual boons, his sentiments were spontaneous and profound whenever
the voice of nature spoke; he despised the birthright (Gen_27:34), but regarded himself
always as the first-born son (Gen_27:32); he slighted the prophecy of God (Gen_27:23),
but coveted most anxiously the blessing of his father; he attributed to the latter a greater
force than to the former; he hoped to to neutralize the effect of the one by the weight of
the other; he could not comprehend or feel the invisible, but he was keenly susceptible of
the visible; his mind was not sublime, but his heart was full of pure and strong emotions;
he saw in his father only the earthly progenitor, not the representative of the Deity—he
was, indeed, the man of nature. As such he is described in the affecting scene of our text;
tie is designedly placed in marked contradistinction to his brother Jacob: nature,
simplicity, deep and genuine affection on the one side; shrewdness, ambition, and

132. indefinite, soaring, but unsatisfied intellectual craving on the other. This contrast not
only implies the kernel and spirit of this narrative, but forms the centre of all Biblical
notions. Hence Esau’s vehement disappointment will receive its proper light; he deeply
repented that he had sold his birthright, but only because he believed that he was for that
reason justly deprived of the father’s blessing due to the eldest son (Gen_27:36); he
beard without envy or animosity, that Jacob’s descendants had been declared the future
lords of his own progeny; leaving that prerogative ummurmuringly to his brother, he
exclaimed: “Hast thou but one blessing, my father?” and bursts forth into another flood
of tears. (M. M.Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Esau’s irreligious envy of Jacob
It was not that he desired to be a servant of the Lord, or that his posterity should be His
people, according to the tenor of Abraham’s covenant: but as he that should be possessed
of these distinctions would in other respects be superior to his brother, it became an
object of emulation. Thus we have often seen religion set at nought, while yet the
advantages which accompany it have been earnestly desired; and where grace has in a
manner crossed hands by favouring a younger or inferior branch of a family, envy and its
train of malignant passions have frequently blazed on the other side. It was not as the
father of the holy nation, but as being “lord over his brethren,” that Jacob was the object
of Esau’s envy. And this may further account for the blessing of Isaac on the former
dwelling principally upon temporal advantages, as designed of God to cut off the vain
hopes of the latter, of enjoying the power attached to the blessing, while he despised the
blessing itself. When Esau perceived that Jacob must be blessed, he entreated to be
blessed also: “Bless me, even me also, oh my father!” One sees in this language just that
partial conviction of there being something in religion, mixed with a large portion of
ignorance, which it is common to see in persons who have been brought up in a religious
family, and yet are strangers to the God of their fathers. If this earnest request had
extended only to what was consistent with Jacob’s having the pre-eminence, there was
another blessing for him, and he had it: but though he had no desire after the best part of
Jacob’s portion, yet he was very earnest to have had that clause of it reversed, “be lord
over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee.” If this could have been
granted him, he had been satisfied; for “ the fatness of the earth” was all he cared for. But
this was an object concerning which, as the apostle observes, “he found no place of
repentance” (that is, in the mind of his father), “though he sought it carefully with tears.”
Such will be the case with fornicators and all profane persons, who, like Esau, for a few
momentary gratifications in the present life, make light of Christ and the blessings of the
gospel. They will cry with a great and exceeding bitter cry, saying, “Lord, Lord, open unto
us!” But they will find no place of repentance in the mind of the Judge, who will answer
them, “I know you not whence ye are: depart from Me ye workers of iniquity!” Esau’s
reflections on his brother for having twice supplanted him, were not altogether without
ground; yet his statement is exaggerated. He lost his birthright because he himself,
despising it, sold it to Jacob. (A. Fuller.)
Late and false tears
Why did he not rather weep to his brother for the pottage than to Isaac for a blessing? If
he had not then sold, he had not needed now to buy. It is just with God to deny us those
favours which we were careless in keeping, and which we undervalued in enjoying. How

133. happy a thing is it to know the seasons of grace, and not to neglect them! How desperate
to have known and neglected them I These tears are both late and false. (Bp. Hall.)
34
When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out
with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father,
"Bless me--me too, my father!"
1. Gill, “And when Esau heard the words of his father,.... That another person
had been before him, and got the blessing; and especially when he heard this ratified,
and confirmed, and made irrevocable:
he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry; as loud as he possibly could, and in
as doleful and hideous a manner as can be imagined; according to the Vulgate Latin
version, he roared like a lion:
and said unto his father, bless me, even me also, O my father; thou art my
father, and I am a child of thine as well as Jacob, show paternal affection to me; give me
also a child's blessing, one at least equal to what thou hast given Jacob, if not a greater,
as being the firstborn.
2. SBC, “No one can read this chapter without feeling some pity for Esau. All his hopes
were disappointed in a moment. He had built much upon this blessing, for in his youth
he had sold his birthright, and he thought that in his father’s blessing he would get back
his birthright, or what would stand in its place. He had parted with it easily, and he
expected to regain it easily. He thought to regain God’s blessing, not by fasting and
prayer, but by savoury meat, by feasting and making merry.
I. Esau’s cry is the cry of one who has rejected God, and who in turn has been rejected by
Him. He was: (1) profane; and (2) presumptuous. He was profane in selling his
birthright, presumptuous in claiming the blessing. Such as Esau was, such are too many
Christians now. They neglect religion in their best days; they give up their birthright in
exchange for what is sure to perish and make them perish with it. They are profane
persons, for they despise the great gift of God; they are presumptuous, for they claim a
blessing as a matter of course.
II. The prodigal son is an example of a true penitent. He came to God with deep
confession—self-abasement. He said, "Father, I have sinned." Esau came for a son’s
privileges; the prodigal son came for a servant’s drudgery. The one killed and dressed his
venison with his own hand, and enjoyed it not; for the other the fatted calf was prepared,

134. and the ring for his hand and shoes for his feet, and the best robe; and there was music
and dancing.
J. H. Newman, Selection front Parochial and Plain Sermons, p. 141; also vol. vi., p. 15.
3. Calvin, "He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. Though Esau persists in
imploring the blessing, he yet gives a sign of desperation, which is the reason why he
obtains no benefit, because he enters not by the gate of faith. True piety, indeed,
draws forth tears and great cries from the children of God; but Esau, trembling and
full of fears, breaks out in wailings; afterwards he casts, at a venture, his wish into
the air, that he also may receive a blessing. But his blind incredulity is reproved by
his own words; for whereas one blessing only had been deposited with his father, he
asks that another should be given to him, as if it were in his father’s power
indiscriminately to breathe out blessings, independently of the command of God.
Here the admonition of the Apostle may suggest itself to our minds,
“that Esau, when he sought again the forfeited blessing with tears and loud
lamentations, found no place for repentance,”
(Hebrews 12:17;)
for they who neglect to follow God when he calls on them, afterwards call upon him
in vain, when he has turned his back. So long as God addresses and invites us, the
gate of the kingdom of heaven is in a certain sense open: this opportunity we must
use, if we desire to enter, according to the instruction of the Prophet,
“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found;
call ye upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6.)
Of which passage Paul is the interpreter, in defining that to be the acceptable time
of the day of salvation in which grace is brought unto us by the gospel. (2
Corinthians 6:2.) They who suffer that time to pass by, may, at length, knock too
late, and without profit, because God avenges himself of their idleness. We must
therefore fear lest if, with deafened ears, we suffer the voice of God now to pass
unheeded by, he should, in turn, become deaf to our cry. But it may be asked, how is
this repulse consistent with the promise,
“If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my
statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live?” (Ezekiel 18:21.)
Moreover, it may seem at variance with the clemency of God to reject the sighings of
those who, being crushed by misery, fly for refuge to his mercy. I answer, that
repentance, if it be true and sincere, will never be too late; and the sinner who, from
his soul, is displeased with himself, will obtain pardon: but God in this manner
punishes the contempt of his grace, because they who obstinately reject it, do not
seriously purpose in their mind to return to him. Thus it is that they who are given
up to a reprobate mind are never touched with genuine penitence. Hypocrites truly

135. break out into tears, like Esau, but their heart within them will remain closed as
with iron bars. Therefore, since Esau rushes forward, destitute of faith and
repentance, to ask a blessing, there is no wonder that he should be rejected.
Esau goes ballistic, losing all perspective of the truth. He says, "Jacob took away my
birthright", when in fact, Esau had despised it and sold it for a bowl of stew! The
book of Hebrews says:
Hebr. 12:15-17 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of
bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no
immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
4. Dr. Arthur G. Ferry, Jr.
I do not think there is enough anguish in my voice to properly communicate what
was in Esau's voice when he said, "Bless me too, my father." I think this is the cry of
every child to his or her parents: bless me too, my mother; bless me too, my father.
This is the cry from every child to their parents, "Bless me too, my mother. Bless me
too, my father." I think it is our cry. We who are adults also seek blessings from our
parents.
There should be no unblessed child in a home. Each of us needs the blessing of our
parents. Paul Tournier, the late Swiss psychiatrist-theologian, used the story of Esau
to describe a certain type of psychological problem which he was constantly dealing
with in his therapy in Switzerland. He called it "The Unblessed Child".
It had nothing to do with the gifts of the child, or the ability of the child, or the
opportunities in life the child enjoyed, or even material possessions. It had to do
with this child not being blessed, not feeling approved by his or her parents, feeling
that somehow they did not measure up, that somehow they never really pleased
their parent. There are in this congregation men and women who will say to
themselves, "I am an unblessed child. I never amounted to what my mother wanted
for me. I never accomplished what my father wanted me to accomplish. I am one of
those unblessed children."
I have a friend who is one of the most talented preachers I know. He taught
preaching for many years, and has written one of the classic books on preaching
that's in the literature of the field today. He was reared in a home of a very
successful businessman who had been mayor in their town. He was a perfectionist
when it came to expectations for his children. His father has been dead now for 2
decades, but he is still working to please his father. He is still trying to do something
with his life which would make him think, "My Dad would really like that." It is
unbelievable what it does to a child to grow up in a family and feel they have not
been blessed.
You're saying, "Well Pastor, I'm convinced I ought to bless my children. How can I
bless my children?

136. What are the power-laden words, those actions, those gestures which will bless my
children?" I have already suggested you should resist the temptation to make the
passing of material gain for children your only goal. I don't think it is a sin to die
and leave things to your children that they can spend, or live in, or drive. That's not
what I'm saying, but if this is all you leave them, then you have not left them
enough.
There is something that wants us to make it easier for our kids. My father used to
say to me, "I just hope you don't have to work the way I've worked." As if there was
something wrong with working. Or there is something in us that makes us more
interested in sheltering our children from life than equipping them for life. I don't
know what it is, but it is there, and I guess what I want to say is, don't assume the
obvious is obvious to your children. I know parents who love their children, but
somehow never communicate that love. I know parents who are proud of their
children, and somehow never communicate that pride to their children.
Here are some suggestions to get us started:
I. OTHI G BLESSES A CHILD MORE THA BEI G LOVED OR
ACCEPTED.
This needs to be felt by the child, communicated by the parent, understood by both.
When you are little, it come by touch, by holding, by looking, by talking, by giving
attention. There is a kind of bonding that comes. I used to wonder how, when all the
calves ran up to the cow, how one cow could tell her calf from another. Then when
we began to watch the little calves be born, here was that mother licking the calf,
smelling the calf, spending time with the calf, a kind of early bonding.
If this is true in the animal world, it is really true with people. There needs to be a
kind of physical bonding, touching, holding, looking, bouncing, making noises,
listening to noises, and being delighted. That doesn't sound hard, does it? Or love is
communicated by just being interested in the child and listening.
A little kid comes in, and in her sweaty little hand is a bouquet of dandelions. They
smell terrible, but if you are to look beyond that bouquet to a child who is so
anxious to please you, to communicate their love for you, the dandelions turn into
long stem red roses. You get a vase and you put water in it, you put it in a place and
you crow over this lovely gift. What a marvelous gift to a child!
People who sit down with little children and read that same story over and over and
over until you have real thoughts about Dr. Seuss and his rhyming words; then you
begin to play games with your children -- you come to a spot and you put the wrong
word in and they correct you, and that becomes a game. It is a sort of a way of
saying, "You are significant to me. You are an important person. I like to read to
you, and you make reading an enjoyable thing."

137. Words of praise for children are powerful words, and sometimes as pushy parents
in our desire to get them to go to their full potential we leave the impression that
they will never please us. Sometimes those small victories need to be crowed over.
Words of love and affection are essential. They may come from all sorts of people,
but if they do not come from your parents, you are not blessed. I have seen people
stand as adults in a community and be praised by all of their peers, and I knew that
inside them there was an emptiness, because while the whole world had praised
them, their father or mother did not praise them. It is an easy thing to bless a child.
They need love and acceptance.
II. CHILDRE ARE ALSO BLESSED WHE THEIR PARE TS HAVE A GOOD
RELATIO SHIP WITH EACH OTHER.
To be able to say "My mother and dad love each other" is a marvelous thing for a
child. It gives them a sense of security. It gives them a sense of belonging.
Children read the relationship. Often before words or definitions they understand
that the good nourishes them and the bad frightens them. To neglect your marriage
is to neglect your children.
This does not mean that a single parent cannot bless a child. It is just that the child's
needs never change, so if as a single father or a single mother you are parenting, it is
just a little harder for you and you have a little larger load to carry.
III. CHILDRE ARE BLESSED BY THE CO SISTE CY OF OUR LIVES A D
BY THE I VOLVEME T I OUR LIVES.
It's what our character is. When what we are saying to them is what we are acting
out in our lives, they feel blessed. Things sort of fit together if they watch us become
truth tellers, honest with them, honest with others, honest with each other; if they
see us respecting people, treating people as persons; if they sense in us a prizing of
values; if they sense in us an interest in life.
It's not good for children to be worshipped. It's not good for children if the only
interest their parents have is those children. It gives them too much power, and
sometimes makes them feel unloved. When given a choice, a child will choose
between what we are rather than what we say. If they see us as phony, they but the
life rather than the words. They are blessed by the consistency and the involvement
in our lives.
IV. THEY ARE BLESSED AS WE I TRODUCE THEM TO GOD.
I hear there are 2 things we ought not to force on our children; religion and politics.
I always translate that: there are just 2 things that are not important to me, religion
and politics. I realize you cannot choose God for your child, you cannot impose
upon a child your faith. It is not an automatic thing. It is not an easy thing. Each

138. generation must decide.
But you can early introduce a child to the biblical faith that this is a God- centered
world, not a man-centered world. You can introduce a child to the revelation of
himself we have in Jesus Christ. You can introduce a child to the value system that
grows out of the Judeo-Christian faith where they learn a basis for right and for
wrong. You can create a climate which predisposes a child toward faith.
It doesn't bother me at all to go out and make my garden produce squash rather
than weeds and roses rather than thistles. A parent blesses a child by creating a
kind of climate in which faith can take place.
V. WE BLESS OUR CHILDRE WHE WE LET THEM GROW UP.
There is such a temptation to keep them children. I remember when we used to have
parent dedication day just once a year, when all of the parents who had babies that
year would bring their babies. In a little service I would stand with the parents and
at times even hold the baby, and sometimes we would have our picture made
together.
The most common phrase I would hear was, "They are so sweet, I hate to see them
grow up." I've always felt that's a way of saying, "Aren't they cute?" I remember
one day a mother said to me, "I just don't think I can let this child go, ever." and I
kiddingly said to her, "Well, God has a secret weapon. He's going to turn her into a
teenager, and you'll be glad when she leaves."
That's not exactly true. It is still hard on parents to have their children grow up; it
is such a temptation to keep them children. We are afraid for them. You cannot
protect your children from the world. We are afraid sometimes for ourselves, and
you cannot stop the process of children growing up. You never stop loving them;
you never stop praying for them; you never stop caring for them, but you stop
trying to control them, and you bless your children by letting them grow up.
What about you? When did you sense you were a blessed child, if you did? Let me
tell you when it came to me. I went through a period when I just didn't know about
my Dad. My Dad was not articulate, not good with words. I remember hearing my
father say, "I love you." He was not a secure person. He didn't feel comfortable
about how well he did things, although when he learned to do something he could do
it over and over again. He was not physically affectionate. I never remember him
touching me and putting his arms around me. Lots of you have parents like that.
But I know my father loved me. He blessed me in many ways.
Let me say a word to you who have come to adulthood and don't feel blessed. Your
parents may never be able to bless you, but there is a heavenly parent anxious to
bless you. You don't have to come, like Jacob to Esau deceiving God, pretending you
are someone else. You can come just like you are, inadequate, failure, a sinner,

139. whatever, and God will love you, forgive you, and accept you, and make you His
child and bless you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is how God reaches out and blesses
us and makes us His children in Jesus Christ.
5. PI K, “We need not tarry long on the pathetic sequel. No sooner had Jacob
left his father’s presence than Esau comes in with his venison and says, "let my
father arise and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me." Then it is
that Isaac discovers the deception that has been practiced upon him, and he
"trembled very exceedingly." Esau learns of his brother’s duplicity, and with a
great and exceeding bitter cry says, "Bless me, even me also, O my father," only
to hear Isaac say, "Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy
blessing behold I have made him thy lord." Esau renews his request saying,
"Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me, also." Then it was
that Isaac uttered that prophecy that received such a striking fulfillment in the
centuries that followed―"Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth,
and of the dew of heaven from above; 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" (vv. 39, 40). For Esau "serving
his brother" see 2 Samuel 8:14 (David was a descendant of Jacob); and for "thou
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck" see 2 Chronicles 21:8.
Above we have noticed that when Isaac discovered that he had blessed Jacob
instead of Esau he "trembled very exceedingly." This was the turning point in the
incident, the point where, for the first time, light breaks in on this dark scene. It
was horror which was awakened in his soul as he now fully realized that he had
been pitting himself against the expressed mind of Jehovah. It is beautiful to
notice that instead of "cursing" Jacob (as his son had feared, see Genesis 5:12)
now that Isaac discovers how God had graciously overruled his wrong doing, he
bowed in self-judgment, and "trembled with a great trembling greatly" (margin).
Then it was that faith found expression in the words "And he shall be blest" (v.
33). He knew now that God had been securing what He had declared before the
sons were born. It is this which the Spirit seizes on in Hebrews 11:20, "By faith

140. Isaac blest Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."
6. RON THOMAS
Notice 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. 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?" It is a strange sight to see such a strong man weep like a baby. Wailing and
weeping in agony, Esau begs his father for a blessing. This is a sad and tragic
moment in the life of Esau, but we must remember that he is suffering the
consequences of his own actions and decisions. He willingly sold his birthright to
his brother for a bowl of Jacob's Big Red. Suddenly Esau is living for more than
the present. His father's blessing means something to him, but it is too late.
Esau attempts to seek sympathy and excuse his actions by placing blame on
Jacob. In verse 36 it says, "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?" Esau has a short memory. He has forgotten his own part in
selling his birthright. We can blame others for our sin, we can rewrite history, but
God knows all and sees all. He is the final judge, and He always gets it right!
Isaac does not attempt to reverse himself. Perhaps he is convicted and has
finally surrendered to what was the plan and purpose of God all along! Verse 37
reads, "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?"

141. There are consequences to sin. When we are rebellious and disobedient, we
lose something irretrievable. At this point, it would be good to consider some
commentary given in Hebrews 12:16-17. "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane
person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.17 For ye know
how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected:
for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."
There was no going back for Esau. The birthright and the blessing were lost.
Jacob is left to suffer his own set of consequences. He flees his dysfunctional
home in fear for his life, forced to fend for himself. Jacob has yet to fully face
himself. He is a blessed man with plenty of baggage. The good news in Jacob's
life is that dysfunctional people from dysfunctional families can become functional
in God's kingdom. When we turn fully to the Lord and His grace, He can rid us of
our baggage, transforming a sinful past into a source of blessing and ministry. If
God can use Jacob, He can use us.
35
But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took
your blessing."
1. Clarke, “Hath taken away thy blessing - This blessing, which was a different thing
from the birthright, seems to consist of two parts:
1.The dominion, generally and finally, over the other part of the family; and,
2.Being the progenitor of the Messiah.
But the former is more explicitly declared than the latter.

142. 36
Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob [1] ? He has
deceived me these two times: He took my birthright,
and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked,
"Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"
1. Clarke, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? - See note on Genesis 25:26.
He took away my birthright - So he might say with considerable propriety; for
though he sold it to Jacob, yet as Jacob had taken advantage of his perishing
situation, he considered the act as a species of robbery.
2. Calvin, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? That the mind of Esau was affected
with no sense of penitence appears hence; he accused his brother and took no
blame to himself. But the very beginning of repentance is grief felt on account of
sin, together with self-condemnation. Esau ought to have descended into himself,
and to have become his own judge. Having sold his birthright, he had darted, like
a famished dog, upon the meat and the pottage; and now, as if he had done no
wrong, he vents all his anger on his brother. Further, if the blessing is deemed of
any value, why does he not consider that he had been repelled from it, not simply
by the fraud of man, but by the providence of God? We see, therefore, that like a
blind man feeling in the dark, he cannot find his way.
3. HOLE, “Our thoughts are now turned to Esau, who had been forestalled in this
fraudulent way. Yet, as is so often the case, man's evil is overruled to work out the
purpose of God. The great trembling of Isaac would seem to indicate that he was
convicted of having tried to defeat God's purpose, and that having failed in this, and
having been used to pronounce on Jacob what he intended for Esau, the thing was
irrevocable. As for Esau, he at once recognized that here was the sequel to the
wanton way in which he had sold his birthright. In regard to him we might
summarize the whole sad story as:— The birthright: the barter: the bitter cry. The
birthright was gone, and the bitter cry remained.
In Hebrews 12: 16, Esau is designated, "profane person," and coupled with a
"fornicator." The appropriateness of the connection is apparent when we remember

143. that this latter sin is used figuratively for unholy connections between the believer
and the world; whilst the profane person is one who lives wholly for this world, and
shuts God and His world out of his thoughts. Esau had not only done this but also
had despised what was of God. ow when people go to the length of despising God
and His blessing they perish, as is stated in Acts 13: 41. In our day and in our land
there are multitudes slipping into that great sin in regard to the Gospel, and they
stand on the brink of destruction.
Esau was now a pitiful sight. He wept. His tears could not undo the past or recover
the birthright, but they did draw forth a blessing from Isaac, though not the
blessing. And in uttering what he did in verses 39 and 40, he spoke doubtless as a
prophet. For many a long century the yoke of Jacob has been off the neck of Esau.
But the feud between the two brothers remains to this day, and is one of the greatest
forces provoking discord in the earth. The beginning of it and the root of it come
before us in verse 41. But again we see that in all his thoughts Esau had not God
before him, otherwise he would not have imagined he could defeat God's purpose by
slaying his brother.
4. HE RY, “1. This he desired: Bless me also, Gen_27:34. Hast thou not reserved a
blessing for me? Gen_27:36. Note, (1.) The worst of men know how to wish well to
themselves; and even those who profanely sell their birthright seem piously to desire the
blessing. Faint desires of happiness, without a right choice of the end and a right use of
the means, deceive many into their own ruin. Multitudes go to hell with their mouths full
of good wishes. The desire of the slothful and unbelieving kills them. Many will seek to
enter in, as Esau, who shall not be able, because they do not strive, Luk_13:24. (2.) It is
the folly of most men that they are willing to take up with any good (Psa_4:6), as Esau
here, who desired but a second-rate blessing, a blessing separated from the birthright.
Profane hearts think any blessing as good as that from God's oracle: Hast thou but one?
As if he had said, “I will take up with any: though I have not the blessing of the church,
yet let me have some blessing.”
5. RO THOMAS
In verse 36, we hear the voice of Esau saying, "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." Esau seems to imply that Jacob's name shaped
him into his present identity. "Jacob is his name, and scheming is his game."
However, the name Jacob was given to match his nature, his character!
Why are we the way we are? Hopefully we know who we are, and the way we are. I
Thessalonians 4:3-4 reads, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that
ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to
possess his vessel in sanctification and honour." If we are to "possess" our vessel, we

144. must first know our vessel, that is, know who we are and how we are. The word
"possess" in the Greek is ktaomai (ktah'-om-ahee) which means to obtain, to own,
to gain the mastery. The road to maturity, is coming to grips with our weaknesses,
our sinful selves. It is honestly facing ourselves, assessing what is and is not
consistent with Christ, and asking the Lord for the grace to change. By the way, it is
always easier to identify the baggage of others than it is identifying our own.
Jacob is Jacob because of his genetic preprograming. He was born with a certain
nature, a nature that manifested itself at birth, however in this passage, we
understand that his mother Rebekah has the same nature. She is the one leading the
way in this elaborate plan to deceive. As parents, we can see both our strengths and
weaknesses in our children. They are more like us, than we would want to admit.
Jacob is Jacob because of his adamic preprograming. He is a sinner! We are all
born sinners, ...born to be wild! In Psalm 51:5 David said, "Behold, I was shapen in
iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." When we are saved, we are left
with a sinful nature that wars against our spiritual nature. Paul in Romans 7:18
said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing."
Jacob is Jacob because of his family of origin. Jacob is also a product of his home,
his upbringing. The kind of home we grew up in, came out of, shapes us in ways we
are not aware. Our family of origin has a great impact on our lives.
In the home, we learn how to relate to others. A son leans how to treat women and a
future wife, by observing his father. A daughter learns how to relate to men and her
future husband, by observing her mother. In the home we are helped as well as
hindered! All homes include both blessings and baggage!
As we take a close look at Jacob's home of origin, we must conclude that it was
dysfunctional. What is a dysfunctional family? The word "dysfunctional," means
not functioning or not functioning as it should function. It is a family that works
against itself, contrary to the purpose, plan, and pattern of God's Word. The
function of a home or family, has to do with roles, relationships, and responsibilities.
There are two sets of roles, relationships, and responsibilities, one set is godward,
the other is manward. For example, a father is to work to provide for the physical
needs of his family, however he is to tend to it's spiritual needs as well. A home that
is not biblical in it's roles, relationships, and responsibilities, is dysfunctional.
6. COKE, “Genesis 27:36. Is not he rightly named Jacob— i.e.. A supplanter. There is
something very affecting in this scene between Esau (who was now, as Le ClercCOMPUTES ,
past his seventieth year) and his blind and aged parent. But his instant accusation of Jacob
for taking away his birth-right, when he parted with it so freely and so profanely, gives one no high
idea of his character, unless perhaps the petulance of sorrow may be allowed to plead a little for
him. See Hebrews 12:17 where you read, that though Esau sought the blessing with tears, he could

145. not gain it, for he found no means to change his father's mind, to induce him to repent of bestowing
it on Jacob. This, and not what is read in our version, is the true sense of the passage.
37
Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over
you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I
have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what
can I possibly do for you, my son?"
1. Gill, “And Isaac answered and said unto Esau,.... Giving an account of the
blessing be had bestowed upon his brother:
behold, I have made him thy lord; the lord of his posterity, who would be subdued
and become tributary to his seed:
and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; the Edomites, who sprung
from his brother Esau, who, according to this prophetic blessing, became servants to
David, who was a son of Jacob's; see Gill on Gen_27:29,
and with corn and wine have I sustained him; promised him a fruitful country,
the land of Canaan, abounding with all good things, particularly with corn and wine,
which are put for all the rest:
and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? what is there remains? what can be
bestowed upon thee? there is nothing left; dominion over others, even over all nations,
yea, over thyself and thy posterity, and plenty of all good things, are given already to
Jacob; what is there to be done for thee, or thou canst expect?
2. Calvin, "Behold, I have made him thy Lord. Isaac now more openly confirms
what I have before said, that since God was the author of the blessing, it could
neither be vain nor evanescent. For he does not here magnificently boast of his
dignity, but keeps himself within the bounds and measure of a servant, and denies
that he is at liberty to alter anything. For he always considers, (which is the truth,)
that when he sustains the character of God’s representative, it is not lawful for him
to proceed further than the command will bear him. Hence, indeed, Esau ought to
have learned from whence he had fallen by his own fault, in order that he might
have humbled himself, and might rather have joined himself with his brother, in
order to become a partaker of his blessing, as his inferior, than have desired

146. anything separately for himself. But a depraved cupidity carries him away, so that
he, forgetful of the kingdom of God, pursues and cares for nothing except his own
private advantage. Again, we must notice Isaac’s manner of speaking, by which he
claims a certain force and efficacy for his benediction, as if his word carried with it
dominion, abundance of corn and wine, and whatever else God had promised to
Abraham. For God, in requiring the faithful to depend on himself alone, would
nevertheless have them to rest securely upon the word, which, at his command, is
declared to them by the tongue of men. In this way they are said to remit sins, who
are only the messengers and interpreters of free forgiveness.
3. SCOTT HOEZEE
For reasons not clear to us, Isaac has just one blessing to give such that once
Jacob scams it, there is quite literally nothing left for Esau but a quasi-curse in
the form of Isaac's prediction that Esau is going to have a rough life of drought,
hunger, fighting, and (worst of all) serving his younger brother. Again, we've
been taught since Sunday school to admire Jacob somehow and more-or-less
ignore Esau. But Genesis 27 makes very clear that Esau was deeply hurt. We are
told twice that he cries out in lament and weeping. "Daddy, no! Say it isn't so!
Pleeeeeeease bless me, too!" It's pathetic. It is also properly heart-wrenching.
Esau is not the sharpest knife in the drawer by any means but there is no
evidence in Genesis that he's a bad sort of fellow. In fact, as we will see later on
in this series, eventually Esau becomes a most radiant stream of grace and
mercy. He gets the short end of the covenant stick but in the long run he makes
peace with that and serves God as best he can anyway.
38
Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one
blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then
Esau wept aloud.
1. Gill, “And Esau said unto his father, hast thou but one blessing, my
father?.... He seems to speak diminutively of what had been given to Jacob, calling it
one blessing: whereas there were many, and of different sorts, both temporal and
spiritual; but it may be Esau had not so clear and comprehensive a view of what was
contained in Jacob's blessing; or at least was willing to think and hope that there was not
so much given, but there might be some behind for him, and that his father had a greater
stock than to be drained of all at once:

147. bless me, even me also, O my father: with another blessing, with one equal to what
has been given my brother:
and Esau lift up his voice, and wept; in order to move the affections of his father,
and to prevail upon him to reverse the blessing he had bestowed on Jacob, and give it to
him; but he could not bring his father to repentance, to change his mind, and revoke the
blessing, and give it him, with all his crying and tears, as the apostle observes,
Heb_12:17.
2. SBC, “I. The character of Esau has unquestionably a fair side. Esau was by no means
a man of unqualified wickedness or baseness; judged according to the standard of many
men, he would pass for a very worthy, estimable person. The whole history of his
treatment of Jacob puts his character in a very favourable light: it represents him as an
open-hearted, generous person, who, though he might be rough in his manners, fond of a
wild life, perhaps as rude and unpolished in mind as he was in body, had yet a noble
soul, which was able to do what little minds sometimes cannot do—namely, forgive freely
a cruel wrong done to him.
II. Nevertheless it is not without reason that the apostle styles Esau a profane person.
The defect in his character may be described as a want of religious seriousness; there was
nothing spiritual in him—no reverence for holy things, no indications of a soul which
could find no sufficient joy in this world, but which aspired to those joys which are at
God’s right hand for evermore. By the title of profane the apostle means to describe the
carnal, unspiritual man—the man who takes his stand upon this world as the end of his
thoughts and the scene of all his activity, who considers the land as a great hunting field,
and makes the satisfaction of his bodily wants and tastes the whole end of living.
III. Esau’s repentance was consistent with his character; it was manifestly of the wrong
kind. It was emphatically sorrow of this world, grief for the loss of the corn and wine.
Jacob had taken his birthright—that he could have pardoned him; but it grieved Esau to
his very soul that Jacob had gotten the promise of the world’s wealth besides. He
continued in heart unchanged, and so he found no place of repentance, though he sought
it carefully with tears.
Bishop Harvey Goodwin, Parish Sermons, 2nd series, p. 1.
3. Calvin, "Hast thou but one blessing ? Esau seems to take courage; but he neglects
the care of his soul, and turns, like a swine, to the pampering of his flesh. He had
heard that his father had nothing left to grant; because, truly, the full and entire
grace of God so rested upon Jacob, that out of his family there was no happiness.
Wherefore, if Esau sought his own welfare, he ought to have drawn from that
fountain, and rather to have subjected himself to his brother, than to have cut
himself off from a happy connection with him. He chose, however, rather to be
deprived of spiritual grace, provided he might but possess something of his own, and
apart from his brother, than to be his inferior at home. He could not be ignorant,
that there was one sole benediction by which his brother Jacob had been constituted
the heir of the divine covenant: for Isaac would be daily discoursing with them
concerning the singular privilege which God had vouchsafed to Abraham and his

148. seed. Esau would not previously have complained so bitterly, unless he had felt that
he had been deprived of an incomparable benefit. Therefore, by departing from this
one source of blessing, he indirectly renounces God, and cuts himself off from the
body of the Church, caring for nothing but this transitory life. But it would have
been better for him, miserably to perish through the want of all things in this world,
and with difficulty to draw his languishing breath, than to slumber amidst temporal
delights. What afterwards follows, — namely, that he wept with loud lamentations,
— is a sign of fierce and proud indignation, rather than of penitence; for he
remitted nothing of his ferocity, but raged like a cruel beast of prey. So the wicked,
when punishment overtakes them, bewail the salvation they have lost; but,
meanwhile, do not cease to delight themselves in their vices; and instead of heartily
seeking after the righteousness of God, they rather desire that his deity should be
extinct. Of a similar character is that gnashing of teeth and weeping in hell which,
instead of stimulating the reprobate to seek after God, only consumes them with
unknown torments
39
His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will
be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew
of heaven above.
1. Barnes, “Gen_27:39-41
At length, in reply to the weeping suppliant, he bestows upon him a characteristic
blessing. “Away from the fatness.” The preposition (‫מי‬ mıy) is the same as in the blessing
of Jacob. But there, after a verb of giving, it had a partitive sense; here, after a noun of
place, it denotes distance or separation; for example, Pro_20:3 The pastoral life has been
distasteful to Esau, and so it shall be with his race. The land of Edom was accordingly a
comparative wilderness (Mal_1:3). “On thy sword.” By preying upon others. “And thy
brother shalt thou serve.” Edom was long independent; but at length Saul was victorious
over them 1Sa_14:47, and David conquered them 2Sa_8:14. Then followed a long
struggle, until John Hyrcanus, 129 b.c., compelled them to be circumcised and
incorporated into Judaism. “Break his yoke.” The history of Edom was a perpetual
struggle against the supremacy of Israel. Conquered by Saul, subdued by David,
repressed by Solomon, restrained after a revolt by Amaziah, they recovered their
independence in the time of Ahab. They were incorporated into the Jewish state, and
furnished it with the dynasty of princes beginning with Antipater. Esau was now
exasperated against his brother, and could only compose his mind by resolving to slay
him during the days of mourning after his father’s death.
2. Gill, “And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,.... Being willing to

149. bestow what he could upon him, without lessening or breaking in upon the grant made
to Jacob:
behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of
heaven from above: this agrees with part of the blessing of Jacob, only the clauses are
inverted, and no mention made of corn and wine; the land of Edom not being so fat and
fruitful as the land of Canaan. Castalio renders the words very differently, "thy habitation
shall be from the fatness of the earth, or without the fatness of the earth, and without the
dew of heaven from above" (c); or otherwise he thinks Esau would have the same
blessing with Jacob, and so would have no occasion of complaint or grief, or to have
hated his brother and sought his life; to which may be added, that the land of Edom,
which Esau and his posterity inhabited, was a very desert country, see Mal_1:3.
4. Henry, “(1.) It was a good thing, and better than he deserved. It was promised him,
[1.] That he should have a competent livelihood - the fatness of the earth, and the dew of
heaven. Note, Those that come short of the blessings of the covenant may yet have a very
good share of outward blessings. God gives good ground and good weather to many that
reject his covenant, and have no part nor lot in it. [2.] That by degrees he should recover
his liberty. If Jacob must rule (Gen_27:29), Esau must serve; but he has this to comfort
him, he shall live by his sword. He shall serve, but he shall not starve; and, at length,
after much skirmishing, he shall break the yoke of bondage, and wear marks of freedom.
This was fulfilled (2Ki_8:20, 2Ki_8:22) when the Edomites revolted.
(2.) Yet it was far short of Jacob's blessing. For him God had reserved some better
thing. [1.] In Jacob's blessing the dew of heaven is put first, as that which he most
valued, and desired, and depended upon; in Esau's the fatness of the earth is put first,
for it was this that he had the first and principal regard to. [2.] Esau has these, but Jacob
has them from God's hand: God give thee the dew of heaven, Gen_27:28. It was enough
to Esau to have the possession; but Jacob desired it by promise, and to have it from
covenant-love. [3.] Jacob shall have dominion over his brethren: hence the Israelites
often ruled over the Edomites. Esau shall have dominion, that is, he shall gain some
power and interest, but shall never have dominion over his brother: we never find that
the Jews were sold into the hands of the Edomites, or that they oppressed them. But the
great difference in that there is nothing in Esau's blessing that points at Christ, nothing
that brings him or his into the church and covenant of God, without which the fatness of
the earth, and the plunder of the field, will stand him in little stead. Thus Isaac by faith
blessed them both according as their lot should be. Some observe that Jacob was blessed
with a kiss (Gen_27:27), so was not Esau.
5. Jamison, “Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth — The first part is
a promise of temporal prosperity, made in the same terms as Jacob‘s [Genesis 27:28
] - the second part refers to the roving life of hunting freebooters, which he and his
descendants should lead. Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his
posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted
and established a kingdom of their own (2 Kings 8:20; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10).
6. CALVI , “Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth. At length Esau
obtains what he had asked. For, perceiving himself to be cast down from the rank

150. and honor of primogeniture, he chooses rather to have prosperity in the world,
separated from the holy people, than to submit to the yoke of his younger brother.
But it may be thought that Isaac contradicts himself, in offering a new benediction,
when he had before declared, that he had given to his son Jacob all that was placed
at his disposal. I answer, that what has been before said concerning Ishmael must be
noted in this place. For God, though he hearkened to Abraham’s prayer for
Ishmael, so far as concerned the present life, yet immediately restricts his promise,
by adding the exception implied in the declaration, that in Isaac only should the seed
be called. I do not, however, doubt, that the holy man, when he perceived that his
younger son Jacob was the divinely ordained heir of a happy life, would endeavor to
retain his firstborn, Esau, in the bond of fraternal connection, in order that he
might not depart from the holy and elect flock of the Church. But now, when he sees
him obstinately tending in another direction, he declares what will be his future
condition. Meanwhile the spiritual blessing remains in its integrity with Jacob alone,
to whom Esau refusing to attach himself, voluntarily becomes an exile from the
kingdom of God. The prophecy uttered by Malachi, (Malachi 1:3,) may seem to be
contradictory to this statement. For, comparing the two brothers, Esau and Jacob,
with each other, he teaches that Esau was hated, inasmuch as a possession was given
to him in the deserts; and yet Isaac promises him a fertile land. There is a twofold
solution: either that the Prophet, speaking comparatively, may with truth call
Idumea a desert in comparison with the land of Canaan, which was far more
fruitful; or else that he was referring to his own times. For although the devastations
of both lands had been terrible, yet the land of Canaan in a short time flourished
again, while the territory of Edom was condemned to perpetual sterility, and given
up to dragons. Therefore, although God, with respect to his own people, banished
Esau to desert mountains, he yet gave to him a land sufficiently fertile in itself to
render the promise by no means nugatory. For that mountainous region both had
its own natural fruitfulness, and was so watered by the dew of heaven, that it would
yield sustenance to its inhabitants.
7. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 39. Answered and said unto him.] Dixit, non benedixit; quia
potius fuit praedictio futurae conditionis, quam benedictio, saith Pareus. And
whereas we read, "Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the
dew of heaven"; Castalio renders it thus: Tua quidem sedes a terrae pinguitudine,
et a supero coeli rore aberit. For Mishmanne, saith he, signifieth ab pinguitudine,
sive sine pinguitudine: as it doth also, Psalms 109:24, "My flesh faileth from
fatness," that is, for lack of fatness, or, without fatness." (a) So the sense he sets
upon this text is, Thou shalt dwell far from the fatness of the earth, in a barren
country, &c. For Isaac could not give Esau what he had given Jacob afore: and this
was what Esau so grieved at, and threatened his brother for. Or if he could, what
cause had Esau so to take on? why should it trouble me, that another partakes of the
sunlight with me, when I have never the less? &c. Objection. But the apostle saith,
"Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau". [Hebrews 11:20] Solution. It was a blessing, no
doubt, that Edom should shake off Israel’s yoke; as it follows, Genesis 27:40, and
happened, 2 Kings 8:20.

151. Mal. 1:3-5 ...I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation, and
appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness." Though Edom says,
"We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins"; thus says
the LORD of hosts, "They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them
the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever."
The one part of Esau's blessing that's good news to him is that one day he would
"break Jacob's yoke from his neck." But the Lord's hand will always be against
him.
40
You will live by the sword and you will serve your
brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw
his yoke from off your neck."
1. Clarke, “By thy sword shalt thou live - This does not absolutely mean that the
Edomites should have constant wars; but that they should be of a fierce and warlike
disposition, gaining their sustenance by hunting, and by predatory excursions upon
the possessions of others. Bishop ewton speaks on this subject with his usual good
sense and judgment: “The elder branch, it is here foretold, should delight more in
war and violence, but yet should be subdued by the younger. By thy sword shalt
thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. Esau might be said to live much by the sword;
for he was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. He and his children got possession
of Mount Seir by force and violence, expelling from thence the Horites, the former
inhabitants. By what means they spread themselves farther among the Arabians is
not known; but it appears that upon a sedition and separation several of the
Edomites came and seized upon the south-west parts of Judea, during the
Babylonish captivity, and settled there ever after. Before and after this they were
almost continually at war with the Jews; upon every occasion they were ready to
join with their enemies; and when ebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, they
encouraged him utterly to destroy the city, saying, Rase it, rase it, even to the
foundations thereof. Psalm 137:7. And even long after they were subdued by the
Jews, they retained the same martial spirit; for Josephus in his time gives them the
character of ‹a turbulent and disorderly nation, always erect to commotions, and
rejoicing in changes; at the least adulation of those who beseech them, beginning
war, and hasting to battles as to a feast.‘ And a little before the last siege of

152. Jerusalem they came, at the entreaty of the Zealots, to assist them against the priests
and people; and there, together with the Zealots, committed unheard-of cruelties,
and barbarously murdered Annas, the high priest, from whose death Josephus dates
the destruction of the city.” See Dr. Dodd.
And - when thou shalt have the dominion - It is here foretold that there was to be a
time when the elder was to have dominion and shake off the yoke of the younger.
The word ‫תריד‬ (tarid), which we translate have dominion, is rather of doubtful
meaning, as it may be deduced from three different roots, ‫ירד‬ (yarad), to descend, to
be brought down or brought low; ‫דרה‬ (radah), to obtain rule or have dominion; and
‫רוד‬ (rud), to complain; meaning either that when reduced very low God would
magnify his power in their behalf, and deliver them from the yoke of their brethren;
or when they should be increased so as to venture to set up a king over them, or
when they mourned for their transgressions, God would turn their captivity. The
Jerusalem Targum gives the words the following turn: “When the sons of Jacob
attend to the law and observe the precepts, they shall impose the yoke of servitude
upon thy neck; but when they shall turn away themselves from studying the law and
neglect the precepts, thou shalt break off the yoke of servitude from thy neck.”
“It was David who imposed the yoke, and at that time the Jewish people observed
the law; but the yoke was very galling to the Edomites from the first; and towards
the end of Solomon‘s reign Hadad, the Edomite, of the blood royal, who had been
carried into Egypt from his childhood, returned into his own country, and raised
some disturbances, but was not able to recover his throne, his subjects being over-
awed by the garrisons which David had placed among them; but in the reign of
Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, the Edomites revolted from under
the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. Jehoram made some attempts
to subdue them again, but could not prevail; so the Edomites revolted from under
the hand of Judah unto this day, 2 Chronicles 21:8, 2 Chronicles 21:10, and hereby
this part of the prophecy was fulfilled about nine hundred years after it was
delivered.” See Bishop ewton.
“Thus,” says Bishop ewton, “have we traced, in our notes on this and the25th
chapter, the accomplishment of this prophecy from the beginning; and we find that
the nation of the Edomites has at several times been conquered by and made
tributary to the Jews, but never the nation of the Jews to the Edomites; and the
Jews have been the more considerable people, more known in the world, and more
famous in history. We know indeed little more of the history of the Edomites than as
it is connected with that of the Jews; and where is the name or nation now? They
were swallowed up and lost, partly among the abathean Arabs, and partly among
the Jews; and the very name, as Dr. Prideaux has observed, was abolished and
disused about the end of the first century of the Christian era. Thus were they
rewarded for insulting and oppressing their brethren the Jews; and hereby other
prophecies were fulfilled, viz., Jeremiah 49:7, etc.; Ezekiel 25:12, etc.; Joel 3:19;
Amos 1:11, etc.; and particularly Obadiah; for at this day we see the Jews subsisting
as a distinct people, while Edom is no more, agreeably to the words of Obadiah,
Obadiah 1:10: For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, in the return of his

153. posterity from Egypt, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. And
again, Obadiah 1:18: There shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the
Lord hath spoken it. In what a most extensive and circumstantial manner has God
fulfilled all these predictions! and what a proof is this of the Divine inspiration of the
Pentateuch, and the omniscience of God!”
2. CALVI , “By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. It is to be
observed that events are here predicted which were never fulfilled in the person of
Esau; and therefore, that the prophecy is concerning things at that time far distant.
For Jacob was so far from having obtained dominion over his brother, that on his
return from Padan-aram, he suppliantly tendered him his obedience; and the
breaking off of the yoke which Isaac here mentions, is referred to a very remote
period. He is therefore relating the future condition of Esau’s posterity. And he says
first, that they shall live by their sword: which words admit a twofold sense, either
that, being surrounded by enemies, they shall pass a warlike and unquiet life; or
that they shall be free, and their own masters. For there is no power to use the
sword where there is no liberty. The former meaning seems the more suitable;
namely, that God would limit his promise, lest Esau should be too much exalted: for
nothing is more desirable than peace. The holy people also are warned that there
will always be some enemies to infest them. This, however, is a very different thing
from living by his own sword; which is as if he had said, that the sons of Esau, like
robbers, should maintain their security by arms and violence, rather than by
legitimate authority. A second limitation of the promise is, that though armed with
the sword, he should still not escape subjection to his brother. For the Idumeans
were, at length, made tributary to the chosen people; (49) but the servitude was not
long continued; because when the kingdoms were divided, the power by which they
had held all their neighbors in subjection and fear, was cut off; yet the Lord would
have the Idumeans brought into subjection for a short time, that he might furnish a
visible demonstration of this prophecy. As to the rest of the time, the restless and
unbridled liberty of Esau was more wretched than any state of subjection.
3. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 40. When thou shalt have the dominion.] Cum planxeris,
saith Junius; when thou hast for some time undergone hard, troublesome, and
lamentable servitude, the grief whereof thou dost greatly groan under; as in David’s
time, [2 Samuel 8:14] who "cast his shoe over them". [Psalms 60:8] The Sodomites,
those worst of men, were the first that we find in Scripture brought in bondage to
others. [Genesis 14:4] When the Danes and other foreigners domineered in this
kingdom, was it not a lamentable time? were not men’s dearest lives sold as cheap as
sparrows were among the Jews, five for two farthings? Did we but live a while in
Turkey, Persia, yea, or but in France, saith one, a dram of that liberty we yet enjoy,
would be as precious as a drop of cold water would have been to the rich man in
hell, when he was so grievously tormented with those flames. Take we heed, lest for
the abuse of this sweet mercy, God send in the Midianites to thresh out our grain,
the Assyrians to drink up our milk, to make a spoil of our cattle, [Jeremiah 49:32]
and to cause us to eat the bread of our souls in the peril of our lives, as our fathers

154. did in Queen Mary’s days.
4.Pink, “Then it was that Isaac uttered that prophecy that received such a striking
fulfillment in the centuries that followed—"Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness
of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 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" (vv. 39, 40). For Esau
"serving his brother" see 2 Samuel 8:14 (David was a descendant of Jacob); and for
"thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck" see 2 Chronicles 21:8.
Above we have noticed that when Isaac discovered that he had blessed Jacob instead
of Esau he "trembled very exceedingly." This was the turning point in the incident,
the point where, for the first time, light breaks in on this dark scene. It was horror
which was awakened in his soul as he now fully realized that he had been pitting
himself against the expressed mind of Jehovah. It is beautiful to notice that instead
of "cursing" Jacob (as his son had feared, see Genesis 5:12) now that Isaac discovers
how God had graciously overruled his wrong doing, he bowed in self-judgment, and
"trembled with a great trembling greatly" (margin). Then it was that faith found
expression in the words "And he shall be blest" (v. 33). He knew now that God had
been securing what He had declared before the sons were born. It is this which the
Spirit seizes on in Hebrews 11:20, "By faith Isaac blest Jacob and Esau concerning
things to come."
Many are the lessons illustrated and exemplified in the above incident. We can do
little more than name a few of the most important. 1. How many to-day are, like
Esau, bartering Divine privileges for carnal gratification. 2. Beware of doing evil
that good may come. What shame and sorrow they do make for themselves who in
their zeal for good do not scruple to use wrong means. Thus it was with Rebekah
and Jacob. 3. Let us seek grace to prevent natural affections overriding love for God
and His revealed will. 4. Remember the unchanging law of Sowing and Reaping.
How striking to observe that it was Rebekah, not Isaac, who sent her beloved child
away! She it was who led him into grievous sin, and she it was whom God caused to
be the instrument of his exile. She, poor thing, suggested that he find refuge in the
home of Laban her brother for "some days." Little did she imagine that her favorite
child would have to remain there for twenty years, and that never again should she
behold him in the flesh. Ah! the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding
small, and we might add "surely." And during those long years Jacob was to be
cheated by Laban as he had cheated Isaac. 5. Learn the utter futility of seeking to
foil God: "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy" (Rom. 9:16); either Isaac’s "willing" nor Esau’s "running"
could defeat the purpose of Jehovah. "There are many devices in a man’s heart;
nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21). Man proposes
but God disposes.

155. Finally, have we not here, deeply hidden, a beautiful picture of the Gospel. Jacob
found acceptance with his father and received his blessing because he sheltered
behind the name of the father’s firstborn, beloved son, and was clothed with his
garments which diffused to Isaac an excellent odor. In like manner, we as sinners,
find acceptance before God and receive His blessing as we shelter behind the name
of His beloved Firstborn, and as we are clothed with the robe of righteousness which
we receive from Him thus coming before the Father in the merits of His Son who
"hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
savor" (Eph. 5:2).
29. Heaven's dew and earth's richness -- an abundance of grain and new wine
30. The subjection of whole nations.
31. Priority and superiority over his brothers,
32. Protection from the curses of others, and
33. To be a source of blessing to others.
When Esau returns too little and too late, his father gives him a kind of anti-
blessing, but the promise that he will overthrow his brother's domination at
some point.
5. KE ETH BOYD, “Esau does not entirely pass out of history at this point
however. Nor apparently did he continue simply to weep. Picking himself up, at
first he vows to kill Jacob for tricking him out of his inheritance, but then,
discovering that Jacob has made a swift exit to Mesopotamia to escape his
revenge, he decides to get on with his life and apparently does quite well for
himself. Twenty years later, when a nervous Jacob returns, with the wives and
children he has accumulated in the meantime, and with gifts designed to appease
Esau, Esau is more than generous. Seeing Jacob approaching, 'Esau ran to meet
him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept'. The brothers are
reconciled, and the reconciliation is permanent. When their father dies, they meet
again to bury him. But when their father dies, it is still Jacob and not Esau who
stands in the historic line; and it is Jacob, renamed Israel, who becomes the father
of that people. Esau too becomes the father of a people, the Edomites. But the
Edomites, although initially regarded as brothers of the Israelites, in time become
their enemies; and eventually, in the era between the Old and New Testaments,
when Edomite political power has waned, they are forcibly incorporated into the
Jewish people. In terms of biblical history, it is the story of Jacob and Israel, not
Esau and Edom, that prevails.
6. Gabriel Josipovici observes that the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible (the Old
Testament) is above all realistic… in its assessment of the human condition… It starts

156. from the position that it is a fact of life that some are more fortunate than others, that
fathers, [and in Jacob's case, we might add, mothers] love some of their children more
than others. This may not be fair, but then why should life be fair? The Hebrew Bible,
accepting this premiss, concentrates rather on the question: How do we respond to the
unfairness of life?
Josipovici, I think, is touching here on something crucial for our understanding not
only of Esau's circumstances but also of our own: how, for example, to respond to
the disappointment of being rejected, of not being the parents' favourite? That was
Esau's question, and we have seen how he responded to it – by letting his anger cool,
by getting on with his life, and by being generous when Jacob returned. George
Edalji, if Barnes' novel is to be believed, responded in a similar way. And, albeit in
less dramatic ways, the question is one to which most of us may have to respond at
some time in our lives. As Josipovici puts it: That is the way the world is, [the Bible]
says, neither fair nor equitable. What are you going to do about it? How are you going
to live so as to be contented and fulfilled? To these questions, Josipovici adds, the
Bible gives us no theoretical answers. Rather, it 'shows us various forms of response
to these questions' in the stories it relates.
How Esau responded to life's unfairness is one of these stories. He let his anger cool,
he got on with his life, and he was generous. Our ew Testament lesson today –
Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan –tells a not dissimilar story. Samaritans were
people of mixed ancestry, part Jewish, part not: it's possible, I suppose, that the
Samaritan in the story may have had Edomites, Esau's people, among his ancestors.
But certainly, by the Jewish establishment, Samaritans were regarded as not pure,
but half-breeds – much the same prejudice as some 19th century English people in
rural Staffordshire had against George Edalji because his father was an Indian
Parsee and his mother English. At any rate, the Samaritan had every reason to have
a chip on his shoulder. The world was neither fair nor equitable to him. So why
should he bother with the man, quite possibly a Jew, lying half-dead by the
roadside? As a world-weary doctor in one of Chekhov's stories asks: 'why hinder
people dying, if death is the normal and lawful end of us all? What does it matter
whether some tradesman or petty official lives, or does not live, an extra five years?'
The good Samaritan, by contrast, was not beguiled by such questions. The crucial
question for him, rather, was 'What are you going to do about it?'
The world is neither fair nor equitable. What are you going to do about it? Of
course, we cannot prove by intellectual argument that what we do makes any
ultimate difference. We cannot prove that the generosity of Esau or the Good
Samaritan, or ourselves if and when we are generous, has anything more than the
temporary effect of a sticking plaster on one or two of this world's countless
wounds. But then, what can we prove intellectually about such a vast question?
Despite all the knowledge we have gained in recent centuries, the ultimate questions
about ourselves – Who are we? How ought we to live? What may we hope for? – are
no nearer any agreed philosophical or scientific answer than they ever were. It is all
a very great mystery. But what if our response is part of the meaning of that
mystery? What if our generosity not only helps to heal another individual and
ourselves, but also is what the wounded heart of the universe awaits, so that sad

157. time may be transfigured into glad eternity? Here, of course, we reach the limits of
human language and human knowledge. But still faith whispers, urgently: 'What
are you going to do about it?'
7. COKE, “Genesis 27:40. By thy sword shalt thou live, &c.— The elder branch, it is here
foretold, should delight more in war and violence, but yet should be subdued by the younger; and by
thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. Esau himself might be said to live much by
theSWORD , for he was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, ch. Genesis 25:27. He and his
children got possession of mount Seir by force and violence, by destroying and expelling thence the
Horites, the former inhabitants, Deuteronomy 2:22. We have noACCOUNT , and therefore cannot
pretend to say, by what means they spread themselves farther among the Arabians: but it appears,
that upon a sedition and separation, several of the Edomites came and seized upon the south-west
parts of Judea during the Babylonish captivity, and settled there from that time. Both before and
after this, they were almost continually at war with the Jews: upon every occasion they were ready
to join with their enemies; and when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, they encouraged him
utterly to destroy the city, saying, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof, Psalms 137:7. And
even long after they were subdued by the Jews, they still retained the same martial spirit: for
Josephus in his time gives them the character of "a turbulent and disorderly nation, always erect to
commotions, and rejoicing in changes, beginning war at the least adulation of those who beseech
them, and hasting to battles as it were to a feast." And a little before the last siege of Jerusalem,
they came to assist the enemies of the Jews, committed unheard-of cruelties, and barbarously
murdered Ananus the high-priest.
And it shall come to pass, &c.— It is here foretold that there was to be a time when the elder
should have dominion, and shake off the yoke of the younger; And it shall come to pass when thou
shalt have the dominion, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. The word which we
translate have dominion, is capable of various interpretations. Some render it in the sense of laying
down, or shaking off, as the Septuagint and Vulgar Latin, and it shall come to pass, that thou shalt
shake off, and shalt loose his yoke from off thy neck. Some again render it in the sense
of mourning, or repenting as the Syriac, but if thou shalt repent, his yoke shall pass from off thy
neck. But the most common rendering is, when thou shalt have dominion: and it is not said, or
meant, that they should have dominion over theSEED of Jacob, but simply, have dominion, as
they had, when they appointed a king of their own. The Jerusalem Targum thus paraphrases the
whole; and it shall be "when the sons of Jacob attend to the law, and observe the precepts, they
shall impose the yoke of servitude upon thy neck; but when they shall turn away themselves from
studying the law, and neglect the precepts, behold, then thou shalt shake off the yoke of servitude
from thy neck." It was David who imposed the yoke, and at that time the Jewish people observed
the law; but the yoke was very galling to the Edomites from the first: and towards the latter end of
Solomon's reign, Hadad, the Edomite of the blood-royal, who had been carried into AEgypt and
kept there from his childhood, returned into his own country, and raised some disturbances, 1 Kings
11:14-25. but was not able to recover his throne, his subjects being overawed by the garrisons
which David had placed among them: but in the reign of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshophat, king of
Judah, the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a
king. Jehoram made some attempts to subdue them again, but could not prevail; so the Edomites
revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day, says the author of the Books of Chronicles, 2
Chronicles 8:10 and hereby this part of the prophecy was fulfilled about nine hundred years after it
was delivered.
Thus we have traced in our notes on this and the 25th chapter, the accomplishment of this
prophecy from the beginning, and we find that the nation of the Edomites has, at several times,
been conquered by, and made tributary to the Jews, but never the nation of the Jews to the
Edomites: and the Jews have been the more considerable people, more known in the world, and
more famous in history. We know indeed little more of the history of the Edomites than as it is
connected with that of the Jews: And where is the name or nation now? They were swallowed up
and lost, partly among the Nabathaean Arabs, and partly among the Jews: and the very name was
abolished and disused about the end of the first century after Christ. Thus were theyREWARDED
for insulting and oppressing their brethren the Jews, and hereby other prophecies were
fulfilled, viz. of Jeremiah 49:7; Jeremiah 49:39. of Ezekiel 25:12; Ezekiel 25:17. of Joel

158. 3:19 of Amos 1:11; Amos 1:15 and of Obadiah: and at this day we see the Jews subsisting as a
distinct people, while Edom is no more: for agreeably to the words of Obadiah Obo_1:10 for thy
violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever: and
again, Obadiah 1:18there shall not be any remaining ofTHE HOUSE of Esau, for the Lord hath
spoken it.
When thou shalt have the dominion— These words, Mr. Mann observes, being part of Isaac's
prediction, addressed to Esau, concerning the future state of hisPOSTERITY compared with that
of his brother Jacob, seem to carry a sense in our translation, which it is not likely the prophet
would endeavour to convey. For to say, that when the Edomites shall get the upper-hand of the
Israelites, they will be no longer subject to the Israelites, would have been a truth which Esau would
have scarcely taken for inspiration. The word ‫תריד‬ tarid, may indeed signify thou shalt have the
dominion: but it appears so improper here, that the learned Louis Capel thought it would be more
adviseable to follow the Targum of Onkelos, in substituting for ‫תריד‬ tarid, (thou shalt have the
dominion,) ‫פריד‬ parid (he shall rebel,) when he shall rebel, or apostatize, thou shalt break his
yoke, &c. The correction is ingenious, but surely not necessary; for ‫תריד‬ tarid, the word in the text,
has in the Chaldee and the Syriac another sense, amend,or repent; and if you will allow the Syriac
version and the Greek of Symmachus, ‫תריד‬‫כאשׁר‬ casher tarid, should be rendered, when thou
shalt be reformed, or amended, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck, which was effected
about eight hundred and sixty-five years after this. 2 Kings 8:20.
REFLECTIONS.—We have in the foregoing verses,
1. The deception put upon Isaac. Jacob appears, with assurance answers his father's inquiries,
produces his venison, brings in God for his helper, removes the just suspicions of hisVOICE by
producing his hands; and thus, after repeated asseverations, confirms his father in the identity of
his person as Esau; herein committing a very great sin, or rather a complication of sins, which,
however God might over-rule them for the good of his church in general, is noted to his shame.
Learn here, (1.) How soon lying is learnt. (2.) When a man is entangled in one lie, he is led of
course to forge many more to support himself in it. (3.) The simplest-hearted have much need to
watch against being overtaken in this sin. (4.) The voice which imposes upon Isaac, cannot impose
upon God.
2. The blessing obtained by it. Isaac kissed him in token of his regard: he blessed him as the
blessed of the Lord, and solemnly puts him in possession ofTHE GOVERNMENT of his brethren
and the neck of his enemies, and therein conveys to him the generation of the promised Seed.
They who take wrong means, may obtain their ends for the good of the church through God's over-
ruling providence; but they themselves will suffer, as Jacob did, for the indirect steps they have
used.
And now, Esau, big with the expectance of the blessing, hastes to his father with the savoury meat:
but how amazed, how shocked, to find his hopes disappointed, and the benediction already
bestowed!Observe,
1. His bitter sorrow. Note; It is too late to grieve for the consequences of sin, when we have
neglected to grieve for the cause of them. He now sought importunately the privilege he had
slighted. The day is near, when they who makeLIGHT of God's covenant, shall seek in vain for
the promises of it.
2. Isaac's steadiness. Though struck at first with amaze, and trembling with surprise, he is
convinced it was God's determination, and he confirms it. No place was found for repentance,
though Esau sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews 12:17.
3. Esau's reproaches of Jacob. Instead of repenting of his own sin, he abuses his brother for a
supplanter. With such a temper, no wonder his intreaties are vain, and his prayers rejected. Note; It
is too late when sentence is passed to cry for pity or pardon.
4. His importunity for a blessing also. Though he may not have the best, he may have
some. Note; Many are desirous of happiness, who never take the way which leads to it.
5. Isaac yields to his request. He bestows upon him a good land, a plentiful dwelling: and confirms
his subjection to his brother, with the hope, however, in time, of shaking off his yoke: all which we
shall see fulfilled in their season. Note; There are common blessings, which are shared by the evil

159. and good; and many times, the wicked are most favoured with them: but all, without Christ, are
scarce a crumb cast to a dog.
41
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the
blessing his father had given him. He said to himself,
"The days of mourning for my father are near; then I
will kill my brother Jacob."
Here is sibling rivalry gone to its ultimate end when one wants to kill the other.
He had no hard feelings expressed about losing his birthright for a bowl of soup, but
losing his blessing was terrible to him and motivated him to think of murder. Why?
Jacob have I love and Esau have I hated is in the same category with hate your
mother and father. It is like saying God have I loved and mom and dad have I
hated. They are not my final and ultimate loyalty. Esau was not selected to be the
one who would be the channel of the covenant of God. God in sovereignty makes the
choice, and in many ways Jacob had to suffer greatly by being the chosen, and Esau
had a simpler life as far as the record goes. God blesses those not worthy, and this
went for Esau as well as Jacob.
1. Clarke, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand - Such was the state of
Isaac‘s health at that time, though he lived more than forty years afterwards, that
his death was expected by all; and Esau thought that would be a favorable time for
him to avenge himself on his brother Jacob, as, according to the custom of the times,
the sons were always present at the burial of the father. Ishmael came from his own
country to assist Isaac to bury Abraham; and both Jacob and Esau assisted in
burying their father Isaac, but the enmity between them had happily subsided long
before that time.
1B. HE RY, “Here is, I. The malice Esau bore to Jacob upon account of the blessing
which he had obtained, Gen_27:41. Thus he went in the way of Cain, who slew his
brother because he had gained that acceptance with God of which he had rendered
himself unworthy. Esau's hatred of Jacob was, 1. A causeless hatred. He hated him for no
other reason but because his father blessed him and God loved him. Note, The happiness
of saints is the envy of sinners. Whom Heaven blesses, hell curses. 2. It was a cruel
hatred. Nothing less would satisfy him than to slay his brother. It is the blood of the
saints that persecutors thirst after: I will slay my brother. How could he say that word

160. without horror? How could he call him brother, and yet vow his death? Note, The rage of
persecutors will not be tied up by any bonds, no, not the strongest and most sacred. 3. It
was a politic hatred. He expected his father would soon die, and then titles must be tried
and interests contested between the brothers, which would give him a fair opportunity
for revenge. He thinks it not enough to live by his sword himself (Gen_27:40), unless his
brother die by it. He is loth to grieve his father while he lives, and therefore puts off the
intended murder till his death, not caring how much he then grieved his surviving
mother. Note, (1.) Those are bad children to whom their good parents are a burden, and
who, upon any account, long for the days of mourning for them. (2.) Bad men are long
held in by external restraints from doing the mischief they would do, and so their wicked
purposes come to nought. (3.) Those who think to defeat God's purposes will
undoubtedly be disappointed themselves. Esau aimed to prevent Jacob, or his seed, from
having the dominion, by taking away his life before he was married; but who can
disannul what God has spoken? Men may fret at God's counsels, but cannot change
them.
2. CALVI , “And Esau hated Jacob. It hence appears more clearly, that the tears of
Esau were so far from being the effect of true repentance, that they were rather
evidences of furious anger. For he is not content with secretly cherishing enmity
against his brother, but openly breaks out in wicked threats. And it is evident how
deeply malice had struck its roots, when he could indulge himself in the desperate
purpose of murdering his brother. Even a profane and sacrilegious contumacy
betrays itself in him, seeing that he prepares himself to abolish the decree of God by
the sword. I will take care, he says, that Jacob shall not enjoy the inheritance
promised to him. What is this but to annihilate the force of the benediction, of which
he knew that his father was the herald and the minister? Moreover, a lively picture
of a hypocrite is here set before us. He pretends that the death of his father would be
to him a mournful event: and doubtless it is a religious duty to mourn over a
deceased father. But it was a mere pretense on his part, to speak of the day of
mourning, when in his haste to execute the impious murder of his brother, the death
of his father seemed to come too slowly, and he rejoiced at the prospect of its
approach. (50) With what face could he ever pretend to any human affection, when
he gasps for his brother’s death, and at the same time attempts to subvert all the
laws of nature? It is even possible, that an impulse of nature itself, extorted from
him the avowal, by which he would the more grievously condemn himself; as God
often censures the wicked out of their own mouth, and renders them more
inexcusable. But if a sense of shame alone restrains a cruel mind, this is not to be
deemed worthy of great praise; nay, it even betrays a stupid and brutal contempt of
God. Sometimes, indeed, the fear of man influences even the pious, as we have seen,
in the preceding chapter, Genesis 26:1, respecting Jacob: but they soon rise above it,
so that with them the fear of God predominates; while forgetfulness of God so
pervades the hearts of the wicked, that they rest their hopes in men alone.
Therefore, he who abstains from wickedness merely through the fear of man, and
from a sense of shame, has hitherto made but little progress. Yet the confession of
the Papists is chiefly honored by them with this praise, that it deters many from sin,
through the fear lest they should be compelled to proclaim their own disgrace. But

161. the rule of piety is altogether different, since it teaches our conscience to set God
before us as our witness and our judge.
3. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 41. And Esau hated Jacob, &c.] Because God said, "Jacob
have I loved." And, as all hatred is bloody, he resolves to be his death. "The
righteous is abomination to the wicked," saith Solomon. [Proverbs 29:27] Moab was
irked because of Israel, or, did fret and vex at them, [ umbers 22:3-4] who yet
passed by them in peace. But the old Serpent had set his limbs in them, transfused
his venom into them: hence that deadly hatred that is and will be betwixt the godly
and the wicked. Pliny speaks of the scorpion, that there is not one minute wherein
he doth not put forth the sting: so doth that serpentine seed, acted by Satan. The
panther so hates man, that he flies upon the very picture of a man, and tears it to
pieces. So doth Satan and his imps upon the image of God, in whomsoever they find
it. They "satanically hate me," saith David [Psalms 35:19] of his enemies. And seest
thou thy persecutor full of rage? saith Bernard; know thou, that he is spurred on by
the devil that rides him, (a) that acts and agitates him. [Ephesians 2:2]
And Esau said in his heart.] Effutiverat etiam minaces voces; he had also bolted out
some suspicious speeches, as our gunpowder traitors did whereby he was prevented.
The days of mourning for my father.] o matter for his mother: yet God saith, "Ye
shall fear every man his mother and his father". [Leviticus 19:3] The mother is first
mentioned, because usually most slighted. Luther thinks, he threateneth his father
also, in these words; as if he should say, I will be avenged, by being the death of my
brother, though it be to the breaking of my father’s heart. (b) A bloody speech of a
vindictive spirit, whom nothing would satisfy, but to be a double parricide.
I will slay my brother.] But threatened men live long: for even Isaac, who died
soonest, lived above forty years beyond this. "My times are in thy hand," saith
David. [Psalms 31:15]
4. William Sandford LaSor wrote, "Perhaps there is another side to this story that
seems so hard to understand. It is possible that somemen held the brithright so
cheaply because they did not want the headache that went with it, for the birthright
was not only a privilege but a responsibility. You see, from the time he became the
elder in the family, the holder of the birthright had to make all decisions for the
family. It was in my lifetime and yours too, that a man gave up the crown of the
British empire for the woman he loved; and mnay of us felt that it may have been
not just for the woman he loved, but also for the desire to escape the responisibility,
the burden of being tried down to the cares of the Empire Esau was simply not
interested in his birthright and what it implied--the religious heritage as well as the
cultural heritage of Isaac, Esau was of the earth, earthy, a worldly man; he had no
sense of values. That is illustrated again, I think, by the fact that he was so careless
of his father's will that he went out and married two Hittite women, even though it

162. was the expressed desire of the patriarch that the wives of these men shoul dnot be
Canaanites or Hittites, ub to fthe same stock as the patriarchs themselve. namely
Hebrew women. Esau's whole life was a renunciation of the values of Abraham and
Isaac. He just did not care about those things.
5. A ew York State woman unknowlingly allowed her family jewels to
be sold for 10 cents at a friend's garage sale. It happened
after she took the jewels out of a bank safety deposit box to
wear to a wedding. The bank was closed when she got home, so she
put the jewels in an old shaving case and stuffed it in another
box. In time, she forgot about the jewels, and later she gave
the shaving case to a friend who was collecting items for a
garage sale. By the time the woman realized what she had done,
the precious gems had been sold to an unknown buyer for a dime.
In a sense, her pain is similar to Esau's. He too discovered
what it's like to realize suddenly that he had lost something of
great value.
6. COKE, “Genesis 27:41. The days of mourning are at hand— In this however he was
mistaken, as Isaac lived forty years after: he was also happily prevented from executing his wicked
purpose by his mother's care, who sent away her son Jacob to Laban, designing soon to fetch him
back from thence, Genesis 27:45though in this she was disappointed, Jacob continuing with Laban
above twenty years. She seems to have been a very tender mother,ANXIOUS for the welfare
of her sons, though most engaged to Jacob, probably by the goodness and humanity of his
behaviour, as well as the knowledge she had of the Divine preference of him. Houbigant
translates ֶ‫ך‬‫ל‬‫מתנחם‬ mithnachem leca, thinks, or meditates concerning thee to kill thee: which he
thinks much more natural than doth comfort himself, and which he avers is more agreeable to the
Hebrew.
7. GRA T, ESAU'S HATRED AWAKE ED
This occasion awakened such hatred in Esau toward Jacob that he purposed to kill
him after their father's death (v.41). While it is only written that Esau said this in
his heart, he must also have told someone else of his intention, for his mother heard
about it, and warned Jacob of it (v.42).
Rebekah therefore advised Jacob to leave and take a long journey back to Haran,
where he could count on the hospitality of her brother Laban. She tells him he
should stay there "a few days" until Esau's anger has abated, but the few days
turned out to be over 20 years, probably because Jacob was not anxious to see Esau
in all that time. But the government of God did not allow Jacob to see his mother
again on earth (see Gen.35:27), though he did see his father. She said she would send
for him at the appropriate time and have Jacob brought home again. She was
therefore as fully deprived of Jacob's presence as if she had been bereaved of him,
as she feared (v.45).

163. Rebekah had made that decision for Jacob before she spoke to Isaac about it. But
her words to Isaac in verse 46 were altogether different to those to Jacob. She tells
Isaac she is tired of living because of the daughters of Heth, two of whom Esau had
married. They evidently continued to be "a grief of mind" to her (ch.26:35). How
many Christian mothers since then have had deep sorrow over their children being
married to unbelievers! Rebekah tells Isaac therefore that her life would be
miserable if Jacob were to marry one of the daughters of Heth.
7. The question then is this, can God love those who he hates? The answer is yes he
does. He hates their sin and folly and judges it, but he also provides a way of
forgiveness and hope of salvation. God experiences ambivalence which is both
loving and hating the same people. God is love and he cannot cease to be that no
matter how much he must judge the sins of man in wrath. Matt. 5:43-48, Luke 6:26-
36. How could Jesus teach us to love our enemies if He could not do it himself?
Esau was the most hated of men, and even God hated him-Mal. 1:3, Rom. 9:13. But
the entire chapter of Gen. 36 is devoted to him and his people for their perpetual
remembrance. We see he had great wealth 326:7, his people were not to be abhored-
Deut. 23:7 and yet Ps. 83. They held high offices in Israel-I Sam. 21:7. They were
used of God I Kings 11:14-22. They were a strong people who fought for
independence and won just as Americans did-II Kings 8:20-22. David defeated them
in I Chroin 18:12-13 but God brought them back to power in II Chron. 28:17. They
were allies of Israel-II Kings 3. They lasted until the Messiah and came to Jesus
from Idumea which was Esau’s people in Mark 3:8.
It is a great paradox that these people so hated as enemies are also loved by God.
They were cursed in Isa. 34. They refused to help Israel in um. 20:14-21. They
shed Jewish blood in Ezek. 25. Rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem in Ps. 137:7 and the
last of the books of the O.T. curses them in Mal.1:1-5 and the whole book of
Obadiah is about cursing them. And yet they were spared when all others suffered
in Dan. 11:36-45. In 36:11,34 we see Teman was Esaus’s grandson and one of the
friends of Job was a Temanite-Job 2:11, 4:1, 42:7-9. In Acts 15:12-19 James quotes
Amos 9:11-12 where the remnants of Esau’s people are to be incorporated into
God’s blest people. These most hated of all people are among the loved and blest of
the seed of Abraham.
It is a strange paradox that Esau who was an enemy of God’s people has the longest
of the genealogies in Gen. 36. Some feel it is a waste of time to study it as if this part
of the Bible is a mistake, but it must have been important for someone to include all
of this. Who keeps a record in detail of their enemies? These are nothing but names,
but to the Holy Spirit they are souls that God loves. They show that God’s love is

164. truly universal and that he did not choose Israel because he did not love her
enemies, and she was more worthy of his grace and love. God blest this son Esau
whom he hated more than Jacob in many ways. He gave him a large family and
made him wealthy and with a great nation and one to be respected by Israel-Deut.
2:1-6, Josh 24:4. His sons were dukes when Jacob’s were only shepherds. The wise
men in the Christmas story were likely from the line of Esau and the shepherds
from the line of Jacob. Esau’s people were free and were kings when Jacob’s people
were slaves in Egypt. Being chosen and favored of God does not necessarily mean
the best life on earth.
In the Chickamauga Battlefield, there are hundreds of markers that tell the story of
one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Yet there is one particular marker that
reminds us of one of the darkest periods in American history. It is a monument that
marks the spot where Confederate General Benjamin H. Helm was mortally
wounded. The marker reads:
Benjamin H. Helm
Brig. Gen. C.S.A.
Breckinridge’s Division
Mortally wounded here about
10:00 A.M. Sept.20th, 1863
The significance of that one marker among hundreds, is that Confederate General
Helm was the brother-in-law of President Abraham Lincoln. It reminds of a time in
our history when a country was divided. State fought against state; family against
family; brother against brother, and friend against friend. One of the great
tragedies of the Civil War was the division it created between families. But an even
greater tragedy is the division you often find among the family God. It is not
unusual to hear of brother fighting against brother, sister against sister, a part of
the family fighting against another part of the family.
We read in Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity!" Unity is good but division is grievous. Unity is pleasant but
division is painful. How sad it is when instead of majoring in communion, many are
muddled in contention. Instead of bearing one another’s burdens we are often
burdened with one another’s battles.

165. We are often like two porcupines that were huddled together to keep warm but their
quills pricked each and kept them apart. They needed each other, but they kept
needling each other.
In the story before us we find brother against brother. We have a scene filled with
hatred and contempt. One brother despises another brother and will be satisfied
with nothing less than the destruction and death of that brother. First, notice with
me:
1. A HATRED THAT IS DEFILI G
We read in Genesis 27:41, “And Esau hated Jacob.” Here is a brother that detests,
abhors, and hates his brother. What a sad and tragic statement. I read the story
about two neighbors had a falling-out over the boundary line fence between their
farms. Feelings became so intense that each built his own fence. These fences were
built about four feet apart. ot only were they added expenses, but neither of the
neighbors had the use of the four-foot strip of land—it rightfully belonged to neither
of them. For lack of a better name, this four-foot strip was called “The Devil’s
Lane."1
A good name for hatred is the “Devil’s Lane,” for it is path right into our heart to
defile to the heart and life. Someone has said that hating people is like burning down
your own house to get rid of a rat. A person who is filled with hatred may do little to
destroy the other, but in the process burns their own house down. As I think of
hatred, I think of how it is:
A. Personally Defiling
Dr. S.I. Mcmillian, in his book " one Of These Diseases" describes hatred: “The
moment I start hating a man I become his slave. I cannot enjoy my work anymore
because he even controls my thoughts. . .The man I hate may be miles from my
bedroom, but more cruel than any slave driver, he whips my thoughts into such a
frenzy that my inner-spring mattress becomes a rack of torture. I really must
acknowledge that I am a slave to every man on whom I pour my wrath.”
What is Dr. McMillian saying? He is saying that hatred defiles the life. It robs a
person of inner peace and peace of mind. It crowds out rest and fills the heart with
restlessness. Instead of a tranquil mind there is a tortured mind. Someone has said
that hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy
the object on which it is poured.

166. One of the worst cases of hatred that I ever read about was found in a will written in
1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, “Unto my two daughters, Francis Marie and Denise
Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, . . . I leave the
sum of $1.00 to each and a father’s curse. May their lives be fraught with misery,
unhappiness, and poignant sorrow. May their deaths be soon and of a lingering
malignant and torturous nature. May their souls rest in hell and suffer the torments
of the condemned for eternity.”
When I read that it makes me shudder. I can’t imagine a father writing such a will
for his children. I do not know the background as to why he felt this way, but
regardless of the reason, I will say this: He was the one fraught with misery,
unhappiness that died a death of lingering malignant and torturous nature. Hatred
is personally defiling. It robs the life of contentment and fills it with contempt. It
strips the soul of victory and fills it with vice. Instead of a tranquil heart there is a
troubled heart.
I also think of how hatred is:
B. Spiritually Defiling
The command of God in Leviticus 19:17, is “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in
thine heart.” Hatred displeases God and grieves the Holy Spirit. To hate is to
disobey God. When you allow hatred to fill your heart, you forget what God desires
and you think only of what you desire.
How spiritually defiling is hatred? If you think you can pray and God will hear, you
are wrong. We read in Mark 11:25, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have
ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses."
If you think you can live a Spirit-filled life you are sadly mistaken. We read in
Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith ..."

167. If you think you can come to the house of God and worship you are in for a surprise.
We read in Matthew 5:23-24, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and
there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift
before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come
and offer thy gift."
The bottom line is; whoever, whatever, or whenever, one is not right with God if in
their heart they hate another person. It is personally defiling and spiritually
defiling.
Joseph Richardson, a ew York millionaire lived and died in a house only five feet
wide. It was called the “Spite House,” and it deserved its name. Owning the narrow
lot of land on which it was built, Mr. Richardson wished to sell it to the neighboring
property owners. They would not pay him what he asked, and so he put up this
house, which disfigured the block—and then condemned himself to a life of
discomfort in it.2
There are many believers that live in a “Spite House” and have narrowed their life
to one of personal and spiritual discomfort. Secondly, notice with me:
2. A HATRED THAT IS DOMI ATI G
Esau was not only defiled by his hatred but he was dominated by his hatred. otice
the story. We see how he was:
A. Consumed With Revenge
We read in verse 41, "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." Esau is consumed with killing his

168. brother. He says, “I want do anything while my father is living, but when he is dead,
I’ll slay Jacob.” He is eaten up with hatred. He is totally consumed with making his
brother pay. He lives for the day when he can get revenge.
The Columbus Dispatch carried a story about a couple from Hopkinsville,
Kentucky whose son was killed by a drunk driver. For more than two years, Frank
and Elizabeth Morris dedicated their lives to punishing the drunken driver who had
killed their only child. Driven by hatred, they monitored his every court
appearance, followed him to the county jail to make sure he was serving his
weekend sentence and watched his apartment to try to catch him violating his
probation. "We wanted him in prison," Mrs. Morris said. "We wanted him dead."
The story went on to tell how Tommy Pigage, the young man who caused the fatal
crash still gets a lot of attention from the Morrises. They drive him to church twice
a week and often set a place for him at their dinner table. Unable to find
satisfaction through revenge, the couple recently decided to forgive Pigage and try
to rebuild his life along with their own. "The hate and bitterness I was feeling was
destroying me," Mrs. Morris said, "I needed to forgive Tommy to save myself."
That story has a great end, but for more than two years the Morris’ were consumed
with revenge. Sunday after Sunday people sit on Church pews consumed with
hatred and revenge.
I read about a fellow that went to the hospital to visit his partner, who was dying of
some unknown malady. Suddenly the dying man said, "John, before I go I must
confess some things to you and ask your forgiveness. I know I'm about to die. I
want you to know that I robbed the firm of $100,000. I sold our secret formula to
our competitors, and also, John, I'm the fellow who supplied your wife with the
evidence that helped her get her divorce from you that cost you a fortune." John
mumbled, "Oh, that's OK, old man. I'm the guy who poisoned you."
I read about a bank in Marin Country, California, that came up with the ideal of
providing personal checks with a persons picture on it. Its customers can simply
bring in their own photograph or drawing and have them printed onto a standard
check form. Undeterred by the higher cost, more than 500 customers signed up for
the illustrated checks.
But perhaps the most imaginative—and vindictive—customer is the one who
ordered special checks to be used solely for making his alimony payments. They
show him beautifully kissing his new wife.

169. One has said that revenge is like a rolling stone which a man has forced up a hill,
that returns upon him with greater violence. It has also been said that the pleasures
of revenge is like the pleasure of eating chalk and coals: a foolish disease made the
appetite, and it is entertained with an evil reward.
At times we are a lot like Abe Lemmons who was fired as the basketball coach of the
Texas Longhorns. When asked if he was bitter at Texas Athletic Director Deloss
Dodds who fired him as the Longhorn's basketball coach. He replied, " ot at all,
but I plan to buy a glass-bottomed car so I can watch the look on his face when I run
over him."
Furthermore, we see him:
B. Consoled By Resentment
We read in verse 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."
Rebekah overheard what Esau said and came and told Jacob of his plans. But notice
an interesting statement she made. She said, “thy brother, as touching thee, doth
comfort himself.” The word simply means to console.
In his hatred, he found comfort and satisfaction in the thoughts of getting revenge.
I’ve seen people console themselves in their hatred. What do I mean? I’ve seen
people that whenever they got a chance to tear down the person they hated, they
jumped at the opportunity. I have known people who in their hatred for another,
found personal pleasure in going from one person to the next, call person after
person, to spew their own personal dislikes, spite, hate, and venom.
I think it is a sad day in any persons life when they become so filled with hate that
they live to talk about others; try to hurt the name and reputation of others; seek to
destroy others. It is a sad day in any life when they find comfort in their hatred.

170. Thirdly, notice with me:
3. A HATRED THAT IS DESTRUCTIVE
Hatred when it is all said and done is divisive and destructive. otice from our story
the:
A. Hurt It Brought
We read in verses 43-45, " ow therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee
thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy
brother's fury turn away; 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?" The whole scene is
one of the hurt his hatred brought to the family. Isaac is hurting, Rebekah is
hurting, Jacob is hurting, and even Esau is hurting. The whole family is racked by
sorrow, sadness, and hurt.
Oh the story of hurt that has been caused by someone with a heart filled with
hatred. In families, churches, and among friends. Hurt that sometimes takes years
to get over and in some cases is never gotten over. Also, notice the:
B. Home It Broke
Here is Rebekah sending Jacob away to flee his brothers fury. She thought it would
be for a few days, a few weeks at the most, but when Jacob left that day, Rebekah
never saw Jacob again. Hatred destroyed this home. Hatred has destroyed many a
home and church. People filled with hatred only think of themselves and never the
hurt and harm their actions bring.

171. otice the words in verse 45 “and he forget that.” That’s what he should have done,
although it would be years before he ever forgave Jacob. But that is what should be
done and must be done. The costs are too high and the consequences to one
personally and others are too great. You say, “Forget it!” Yes, forget it. Get it out
and let it go.
I think of the experience of Corrie Ten Boom, who years after her concentration
camp experiences in azi Germany, met face to face one of the most cruel and
heartless German guards that she had ever contacted. He had humiliated and
degraded her and her sister. He had jeered and visually raped them as they stood in
the delousing shower. ow he stood before her with hand out-stretched and said,
"Will you forgive me?" She writes, "I stood there with coldness clutching at my
heart, but I know that the will can function regardless of the temperature of the
heart. I prayed, Jesus, help me! Woodenly, mechanically I thrust my hand into the
one stretched out to me and I experienced an incredible thing. The current started
in my shoulder, raced down into my arms and sprang into our clutched hands.
Then this warm reconciliation seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my
eyes. I forgive you, brother, I cried with my whole heart. For a long moment we
grasped each others hands, the former guard, the former prisoner. I have never
known the love of God so intensely as I did in that moment!"
May I say to you that to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner
was you.
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Genesis 27:39-41 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Once Isaac had given his—really God's—blessing, there was nothing left for Esau.
The blessing was an "all or nothing" addition to the inheritance; it could not be
portioned between Isaac's two sons. In reality, the subsequent "blessing" Esau
receives is tantamount to a curse. In the ew King James Version, it reads as if
Isaac blesses Esau in Genesis 27:39-40, yet it is not a blessing but a prophecy.
As shown here, the two uses of "of" in verse 39 have been mistranslated; in this
context, the Hebrew word implies, not "belonging to," but "from" or "away from."
On this verse, the Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament observes,
"By a play upon the words Isaac uses the same expression as in v. 28, 'from the fat
fields of the earth, and from the dew,' but in the opposite sense, min being partitive
[imparting] there, and privative [depriving] here, 'from = away from.'" Thus, Isaac
prophesies that Esau's descendants would live in an infertile, arid area.

172. One consequence of this is prophesied in verse 40: There will be continual strife
between the "have," Jacob, and the "have-not," Esau; they would engage in a
constant, internecine quarrel over "the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of
heaven." More often than not, Jacob would be dominant—until Esau would rebel in
frustration and anger. Isaac predicts that they will frequently come to blows, and
occasionally, Esau's descendants will enjoy the upper hand for a time.
Esau's utterly human reaction upon hearing Isaac's words is consistent with what
we know of his personality: "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 at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob" (Genesis 27:41). Too late,
he realized the value of the blessing, and now his entire attention was focused in
hatred against his brother. Hebrews 12:15-16 describes his attitude toward Jacob as
a "root of bitterness," a profound and deep-set animosity that ultimately corrupts
and defiles one who maintains it.
This reveals the mindset of Esau and his descendants, the Edomites. Everything that
should have been theirs was now Jacob's, and they will fight until the bitter end of
days to get it back! Yet God says it is not to be. His prophecy in the "blessing"
allows Esau only occasional supremacy. Since Jacob's seed possessed both the
birthright and the blessing, they would normally prevail and ultimately have the
ascendancy.
The birthright made Jacob the recipient of a double portion of the inheritance, and
the blessing was a gift of God by which the patriarch passed on the promised family
blessings. These blessings included the patriarchy—"Be master over your brethren"
(Genesis 27:29)—which was now Jacob's! This meant that, upon Isaac's death, the
leadership position in Abraham's family passed not to the elder, Esau, but to the
younger, Jacob. Esau was left to form his own house, but without the power,
position, and wealth inherent within the birthright and the blessing.
In these prophecies, the Bible shows that dominant family traits are passed down to
succeeding generations. Therefore, even today, Israelites generally think and behave
much like their father Jacob, while Edomites still retain the attitudes and drives of
Esau. Though not every Israelite or Edomite will imitate his ancestor's personality
to the letter, these traits will surface as national characteristics, allowing perceptive
observers to identify their origins and fit them into Bible prophecy.
For Jacob's thefts of the birthright and blessing, Esau hated his brother enough to
begin to plot his death! This burning hatred has been passed on from generation to
generation ever since that time, for approximately 3,700 years. This, then, provides
us with a basic understanding of the contentious relationship between these two
peoples.

173. 9. Richard T. Ritenbaugh
All About Edom (Part One)
Obadiah 1:1-4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Edom lived in the area east of the Jordan in the mountainous areas south of the
Dead Sea—a dry, barren, rocky place. Here, in this end-time prophecy, Edomites
are still living in this inhospitable place.
Verse 1 contains a parenthetical statement that informs us that God has sent a
messenger among the nations, urging them to "rise up against her." This is how
things really work: God is the prime mover of world affairs. He determines His
purpose and starts affairs rolling toward its fulfillment by inspiring an idea. Then
the political and diplomatic mechanisms of nations take over to bring it to fruition,
guided and pushed all the while by God (see Isaiah 46:9-11; Isaiah 55:11).
In this case, a national leader decides to send an ambassador to other nations to
form a military alliance against Edom. The complaint, as explained in subsequent
verses, is that Edom must be brought down to size, perhaps because she is not a
team player, wanting all the glory and plunder for herself. That God is the ultimate
author of this message means that it will happen as advertised.
Obadiah 1:2 adds emphasis to verse 1. The "I" is God Himself; it is His purpose to
bring about Edom's national deflation. He wants Edom to recognize this! He thinks
that the Edomites need to be brought into account for their actions and severely
punished. Those among the nations who are scheming against Edom are merely
agents God will use to fulfill His decree.
Verse 3 strikes at the root of Edom's problem: "The pride of your heart." It was
easy for the Edomites to believe themselves to be invincible due to the nearly
uninhabitable territory they dwelled in. To the west, where Israel lay, the geography
made their territory nearly impregnable. Otherwise, they could feel secure because
their fortresses were carved out of the rock, so they could either hunker down for
long periods or engage in guerilla warfare. An attacking army could in no way pry
them out, and they knew it. They felt invulnerable, and this filled them with pride.
"Pride" in verse 3 is the Hebrew word zadon, from the root, ziyd. This root is
translated "cooked" in Genesis 25:29, where Jacob cooked a stew that the famished

174. Esau desired. "Cooked" would be better translated "boiled" or "seethed." When
heat is applied to water, it boils, and from this process, the Hebrews gained their
understanding of pride.
Obadiah, it seems, specifically used this word to draw the reader's attention back to
this incident, perhaps suggesting that Esau's selling of the birthright was rooted in
his pride. Esau became heated and angry, and it manifested itself as haughtiness,
arrogance, pride—the major trait he passed on to his descendants. Just as stew boils
up under heat, so Edom puffs herself up thinking that she is self-reliant and
invincible. God, however, is out to prove her wrong.
The Edomite challenge at the end of Obadiah 1:3 bears some scrutiny: "Who will
bring me down to the ground?" This is remarkably similar to the words of Lucifer
in Isaiah 14:13-14 and to those of the great harlot in Revelation 18:7. This same
pride will lead Edom into trouble. The Bible declares that, in all three of these
examples, God will have the last word: He will humble them all. In Obadiah 1:4, He
decrees, no matter how high and mighty Edom considers herself to be, "from there I
will bring you down."
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
All About Edom (Part Three): Obadiah
Obadiah 1:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Leviticus 19:17, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," succinctly
describes the fundamental flaw in Edom, hatred. Edom's hatred is the primary
consequence of her pride. Because he always felt that he should have been the
master and received his father's wealth and blessings, Esau nursed his wounded
feelings of superiority, and it boiled over into hatred of his brother. This flaw
became a prime feature of Edomite character.
Hatred against a brother can lead a person to terrible acts, most often underhanded
ones. In the case of the Edomites, their vile attitudes first manifested themselves in
such things as gloating and rejoicing over Israel's catastrophes, and led to actions
such as pillaging, selling into slavery, and taking the other's territory when Israel
and Judah were weak.
God encapsulates the reason for His terrible judgment against Edom into a single
word: "violence." In Hebrew, this word is chamas, believe it or not, so strikingly
similar to the name of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas. In actuality,

175. Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawima al-Islamiyya, the Islamic
Resistance Movement. Along with Hezbollah, it has been Israel's chief enemy for
many years. It is difficult to see this as a mere coincidence.
Could this be a scriptural clue as to the modern-day identity of Edom or perhaps
Amalek? The details revealed in Obadiah support such a conclusion. A survey of
recent Middle East history shows how Hamas has set itself against the Jews; no
other group bears such vehement hatred for them. Even though it has secured
political power in Palestine, it will not renounce its perpetual hatred against the
state of Israel—not even to become a viable player on the world stage. Members of
Hamas simply want to annihilate Israel.
Chamas suggests immoral, cruel violence, going hand-in-hand with "slaughter" in
the previous verse. The two words are undoubtedly linked. Edom will be cut off
with the same slaughter and in the same manner by which she treated Israel: with
violence, with chamas!
Why does God describe Esau in these terms? What drives Esau to hate Israel so
viscerally? Deuteronomy 32 succinctly illustrates God's attentive relationship with
Israel, how He found her, cared for her, and formed her into a great nation. God's
love for Israel undergirds why hatred and violence against Israel is such a terrible
transgression. Indeed, God's relationship with Israel is a driving factor behind
Edom's hot anger—it is essentially jealousy!
Zechariah 2:8 describes Israel as "the apple of His eye." If a person pokes another
in the eye, it hurts the recipient terribly. Because Esau's perpetual enmity and
violence against Israel are fingers in God's eye, He takes extreme umbrage. The
Edomites, rebelling against God's will, picked on one whom God has chosen. This is
sin, not only against Israel, but also against God. Rather than humbly bowing
before His will that the older shall serve the younger, Edom has waged perpetual
war against Jacob's descendants. In doing so, she has, in effect, declared war against
God—a very serious sin.
9. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Genesis 27:41-45
Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing.
Esau’s resentment
I. IT WAS CARNAL.
II. IT WAS OVER-RULED FOR GOOD. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. Esau’s wicked hypocrites hate always bitterly those whom God loves dearly.

176. 2. God’s blessing on His own is the cause why the wicked do so much hate and curse
them.
3. The hearts of the wicked are meditating mischief, and their tongues belching it out
against the righteous.
4. Pretended mourning for the dead is the hypocrite’s cloak for the death of the
living.
5. Mischievous hypocrites in the Church, stick not to hasten the death of parents
when they hinder from their ends.
6. Resolutions of the wicked are for the slaughter of the righteous and blessed, were
it in their hands. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Providence ordereth the counsels of the wicked to be revealed that they may be
prevented.
2. God maketh sometimes the instruments of their straits to be instruments of
deliverance to His. So Rebekah was to Jacob.
3. It is but meet that such who bring into danger should be solicitous to prevent it.
4. Timely advice for safety should be taken with greatest heed, as given with greatest
care.
5. The murder of the innocent is the comfort of the cruel and wicked man. Revenge
comforts the hypocrite, when no harm is done to him (Gen_27:22).
6. The mother’s voice must be heard when it tends to the good of children.
7. Flight from danger into exile is many times the lot of persecuted saints.
8. God can make the wicked’s habitations sometimes shelters to His people
(Gen_27:43.)
9. Gracious parents and children would part but for a little time if it might be.
10. Time wears out anger and memory of all pretended injuries in the wicked
(Gen_27:44).
11. Tender mothers long to preserve the lives of children, evil and good.
12. To be childless, or bereft of all, is an evil deprecated by the saints (verse
Jer_31:15). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
42

177. When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had
said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to
him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with
the thought of killing you.
1. Barnes, “Gen_27:42-46
Rebekah hearing this, advises Jacob to flee to Laban her brother, and await the
abatement of his brother’s anger. “That which thou hast done to him.” Rebekah seems
not to have been aware that she herself was the cause of much of the evil and of the
misery that flowed from it. All the parties to this transaction are pursued by a retributive
chastisement. Rebekah, especially, parts with her favorite son to meet him only after an
absence of twenty years, if ever in this life. She is moreover grievously vexed with the
connection which Esau formed with the daughters of Heth. She dreads a similar
matrimonial alliance on the part of Jacob.
2. Clarke, “Doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee - ‫לך‬ ‫מתנחם‬ (mithnachem
lecha), which Houbigant renders cogitat super te, he thinks or meditates to kill thee.
This sense is natural enough here, but it does not appear to be the meaning of the
original; nor does Houbigant himself give it this sense, in his Racines Hebraiques.
There is no doubt that Esau, in his hatred to his brother, felt himself pleased with
the thought that he should soon have the opportunity of avenging his wrongs.
2B. HE RY, “1. She gave Jacob warning of his danger, and advised him to
withdraw for a while, and shift for his own safety. She tells him what she heard of
Esau's design, that he comforted himself with the hope of an opportunity to kill his
brother, Gen_27:42. Would one think that such a bloody barbarous thought as this
could be a comfort to a man? If Esau could have kept his design to himself his
mother would not have suspected it; but men's impudence in sin is often their
infatuation; and they cannot accomplish their wickedness because their rage is too
violent to be concealed, and a bird of the air carries the voice. Observe here, (1.)
What Rebekah feared - lest she should be deprived of them both in one day
(Gen_27:45), deprived, not only of the murdered, but of the murderer, who either
by the magistrate, or by the immediate hand of God, would by sacrificed to justice,
which she herself must acquiesce in, and not obstruct: or, if not so, yet
thenceforward she would be deprived of all joy and comfort in him. Those that are
lost to virtue are in a manner lost to all their friends. With what pleasure can a child
be looked upon that can be looked upon as no other than a child of the devil? (2.)
What Rebekah hoped - that, if Jacob for a while kept out of sight, the affront which
his brother resented so fiercely would by degrees go out of mind. The strength of
passions is weakened and taken off by the distances both of time and place. She
promised herself that his brother's anger would turn away. ote, Yielding pacifies
great offences; and even those that have a good cause, and God on their side, must

178. yet use this with other prudent expedients for their own preservation.
3. Jamison, “these words of Esau were told Rebekah — Poor woman! she now early
begins to reap the bitter fruits of her fraudulent device; she is obliged to part with
her son, for whom she planned it, never, probably, seeing him again; and he felt the
retributive justice of heaven fall upon him heavily in his own future family.
4. CALVI , “And these words of Esau... were told to Rebekah. Moses now makes a
transition to a new subject of history, showing how Jacob, as a wanderer from his
father’s house, went into Mesopotamia. Without doubt, it was an exceedingly
troublesome and severe temptation to the holy matron, to see that, by her own deed,
her son was placed in imminent danger of death. But by faith she wrestled to retain
the possession of the grace once received. For, if she had been impelled by a merely
womanly attachment to her younger son, it certainly would have been her best and
shortest method, to cause the birthright to be restored to Esau: for thus the cause of
emulation would have been removed; and he who was burning with grief at the loss
of his right, would have had his fury appeased. It is therefore an evidence of
extraordinary faith, that Rebekah does not come to any agreement, but persuades
her son to become a voluntary exile, and chooses rather to be deprived of his
presence, than that he should give up the blessing he had once received. The
benediction of the father might now seem illusory; so as to make it appear
wonderful that so much should be made of it by Rebekah and Jacob: nevertheless,
they were so far from repenting of what they had done, that they do not refuse the
bitter punishment of exile, if only Jacob may carry with him the benediction uttered
by his father. Moreover, we are taught by this example, that we must bear it
patiently, if the cross attends the hope of a better life, as its companion; or even if
the Lord adopts us into his family, with this condition, that we should wander as
pilgrims without any certain dwelling-place in the world. For, on this account, Jacob
is thrust out from his paternal home, where he might quietly have passed his life,
and is compelled to migrate to a strange land; because the blessing of God is
promised unto him. And as he did not attempt to purchase temporal peace with his
brother by the loss of the grace received; so must we beware lest any carnal
advantage or any allurements of the world should draw us aside from the course of
our vocation: let us rather bear with magnanimity losses of all kinds, so that the
anchor of our hope nay remain fixed in heaven. When Rebekah says that Esau
consoled himself with the thought, that he would slay his brother; the meaning is,
that he could not be pacified by any other means, than by this wicked murder
5. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 42. And these words of Esau, &c.] For he could not hold, as
Absalom did, who, intending to murder Amnon, spake neither good nor evil to him.
These still revenges are most dangerous, as a dog that barks not. That Esau vented
himself in words, was a great mercy of God to Jacob. He thought nothing, good
man, but followed his calling, not knowing his danger. But his provident mother
heard about it, and took course to prevent it. So doth the sweet fatherly providence
of God take care and course for the safety of his servants, when they are either
ignorant or secure. Masses were said in Rome for the good success of the Powder

179. Plot; but no prayers in England for our deliverance: and yet we were delivered. A
sevenfold psalmody they had framed here, which secretly passed from hand to
hand, with tunes set, to be sung for the cheering up of their wicked hearts, with an
expectation, as they called it, of their day of Jubilee. (a) The matter consisteth of
railing upon King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, and King James; of petition,
imprecation, prophecy, and praise. This Psalter is hard to be had: for they are taken
up by the Papists as other books are, that discover their shame. But Mendoza, that
liar ( conveniunt rebus nomina saepe suis), sounded the triumph before the victory.
That blind letter of theirs brought all to light, by the mere mercy of "the Father of
lights," who was pleased to put a divine sentence into the mouth of the king. Sorex
suo perit indicio. Hunc tibi pugionem mittit Senatus, dixit ille: detexit facinus
fatuus, et non implevit. So here. See the like, 1 Samuel 19:2, Acts 9:24; Acts 23:16.
And she sent and called Jacob.] Why did she not call both her sons together, and
make them friends, by causing the younger to resign up his blessing to the elder?
Because she preferred heaven before earth, and eternity before any the world’s
amity or felicity whatsoever. The devil would fain compound with us when he
cannot conquer us; as Pharaoh would let some go, not all; or if all, yet not far.
Religiosum oportet esse, sed non religantem. He cannot abide this strictness, &c.
But we must be resolute for God and heaven. Better flee with Jacob, yea, die a
thousand deaths, than, with the loss of God’s blessing, to accord with Esau.
43
ow then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my
brother Laban in Haran.
1. Barnes, “Rebekah hearing this, advises Jacob to flee to Laban her brother, and await
the abatement of his brother’s anger. “That which thou hast done to him.” Rebekah
seems not to have been aware that she herself was the cause of much of the evil and of
the misery that flowed from it. All the parties to this transaction are pursued by a
retributive chastisement. Rebekah, especially, parts with her favorite son to meet him
only after an absence of twenty years, if ever in this life. She is moreover grievously vexed
with the connection which Esau formed with the daughters of Heth. She dreads a similar
matrimonial alliance on the part of Jacob.
2. Gill, “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to what I say, and do

180. according to it, as he had already in many instances, and particularly in a late one, in
which he succeeded, and therefore had good reason to attend to her advice and direction,
see Gen_27:13,
and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother, to Haran; where Laban her brother,
dwelt.
3. Henry, “1. She gave Jacob warning of his danger, and advised him to withdraw for a
while, and shift for his own safety. She tells him what she heard of Esau's design, that he
comforted himself with the hope of an opportunity to kill his brother, Gen_27:42. Would
one think that such a bloody barbarous thought as this could be a comfort to a man? If
Esau could have kept his design to himself his mother would not have suspected it; but
men's impudence in sin is often their infatuation; and they cannot accomplish their
wickedness because their rage is too violent to be concealed, and a bird of the air carries
the voice. Observe here, (1.) What Rebekah feared - lest she should be deprived of them
both in one day (Gen_27:45), deprived, not only of the murdered, but of the murderer,
who either by the magistrate, or by the immediate hand of God, would by sacrificed to
justice, which she herself must acquiesce in, and not obstruct: or, if not so, yet
thenceforward she would be deprived of all joy and comfort in him. Those that are lost to
virtue are in a manner lost to all their friends. With what pleasure can a child be looked
upon that can be looked upon as no other than a child of the devil? (2.) What Rebekah
hoped - that, if Jacob for a while kept out of sight, the affront which his brother resented
so fiercely would by degrees go out of mind. The strength of passions is weakened and
taken off by the distances both of time and place. She promised herself that his brother's
anger would turn away. Note, Yielding pacifies great offences; and even those that have a
good cause, and God on their side, must yet use this with other prudent expedients for
their own preservation.
4. Jamison, “Poor woman! she now early begins to reap the bitter fruits of her
fraudulent device; she is obliged to part with her son, for whom she planned it, never,
probably, seeing him again; and he felt the retributive justice of heaven fall upon him
heavily in his own future family.
5. . K&D, “by fleeing to her brother Laban in Haran, and remaining there “some days,”
as she mildly puts it, until his brother's wrath was subdued. “For why should I lose you
both in one day?” viz., Jacob through Esau's vengeance, and Esau as a murderer by the
avenger of blood (Gen_9:6, cf. 2Sa_14:6-7). In order to obtain Isaac's consent to this
plan, without hurting his feelings by telling him of Esau's murderous intentions, she
spoke to him of her troubles on account of the Hittite wives of Esau, and the weariness of
life that she should feel if Jacob also were to marry one of the daughters of the land, and
so introduced the idea of sending Jacob to her relations in Mesopotamia, with a view to
his marriage there.

181. 44
Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury
subsides.
It is of interest how often brothers are in conflict in the Bible. You have Cain and
Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers. But in the
ew Testament you see Jesus choosing brothers for his twelve disciples. There is
James and John, Peter and Andrew, and Matthew and the other James. Half of His
disciples were brothers, and so we see that they can be key factors in the unity of a
group, and do not need to be factors for division as they were so often in the Old
Testament. Even the story of Jacob and Esau ends with reconciliation. That is part
of the message of his life, that when their is reconciliation with God there will be
reconciliation with man. Get the vertical relation with God right, and the horizontal
relation with man will work out as well.
But there is ever much conflict between men who are those of force and action
with those who are of thought and sensibility. The men of violence and the men of
peace. Those for whom life is primarily self-gratification, and those for whom it is
primarily service to others. Some like to think that twins are always somewhat
opposite, and one is good and the other evil. This stems from the account of Jacob
and Esau.
1.. Clarke, “Tarry with him a few days - It was probably forty years before he
returned, and it is likely Rebekah saw him no more; for it is the general opinion of
the Jewish rabbins that she died before Jacob‘s return from Padan-aram, whether
the period of his stay be considered twenty or forty years. See note on Genesis 31:55,
etc.
2. And tarry with him a few days,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets a few years; rather,
as Hiscuni, one year; perhaps it may be better should it be said one or two years; but
instead of so short a time Jacob stayed there twenty years, and perhaps Rebekah never
saw him anymore, being dead before he returned; after this account, no more mention is
made of her:
until thy brother's fury turn away; which she hoped would abate, subside, and be
entirely gone in process of time, and especially when the object of it was out of sight, and
so it might be thought would be out of mind.
3. Calvin, “And tarry with him a few days. This circumstance mitigates the severity

182. of banishment. For the shortness of the time of suffering avails not a little to support
us in adversity. And it was probable that the enmity of Esau would not prove so
obstinate as to be unassuaged by his brother’s absence. In the Hebrew expression
which is translated “a few days,” the word few is literally “one” put in the plural
number. (51) Rebekah means, that as soon as Jacob should have gone away of his
own accord, the memory of the offense would be obliterated from the mind of Esau;
as if she had said, Only depart hence for a little while, and we shall soon assuage his
anger.
45
When your brother is no longer angry with you and
forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to
come back from there. Why should I lose both of you
in one day?"
She apparently realized that she lost Esau because he would have nothing to do
with her after her betrayal, and if Jacob did not flee he would be killed and she
would lose both her boys in one day. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that in
a conflict it would be Esau who would win.
1. Clarke, “Why should I be deprived also of you both - If Esau should kill Jacob,
then the nearest akin to Jacob, who was by the patriarchal law, Genesis 9:6, the
avenger of blood, would kill Esau; and both these deaths might possibly take place
in the same day. This appears to be the meaning of Rebekah. Those who are ever
endeavoring to sanctify the means by the end, are full of perplexity and distress.
God will not give his blessing to even a Divine service, if not done in his own way, on
principles of truth and righteousness. Rebekah and her son would take the means
out of God‘s hands; they compassed themselves with their own sparks, and warmed
themselves with their own fire; and this had they at the hand of God, they lay down
in sorrow. God would have brought about his designs in a way consistent with his
own perfections; for he had fully determined that the elder should serve the
younger, and that the Messiah should spring not from the family of Esau but from
that of Jacob; and needed not the cunning craftiness or deceits of men to accomplish
his purposes. Yet in his mercy he overruled all these circumstances, and produced
good, where things, if left to their own operations and issues, would have produced
nothing but evil. However, after this reprehensible transaction, we hear no more of
Rebekah. The Holy Spirit mentions her no more, her burial excepted, Genesis 49:31.
See note on Genesis 35:8.

183. 3. Gill, “Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee,.... Which is repeated
from the preceding verse, to carry on the connection:
and he forget that which thou hast done to him; in getting the blessing from him;
being convinced that Jacob had done him no injury, and that he had no just cause of
being angry with him, it being the will of God that he should have the blessing; and
besides, having bought the birthright of him, the blessing belonged to him in course; or
however would in time forgive and forget what he thought was an injury done him:
then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; send messengers to him that should
acquaint him with the disposition of his brother towards him, and, if agreeable, bring
him along with them to his mother again; this is said to encourage him to go:
why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? who might either in the
quarrel kill one another; or however, as one would be murdered, so the other, the
murderer, must die by the hand of the civil magistrate, according to the law in Gen_9:6;
or should he escape justice being done him by men, yet the hand of God would find him;
or if obliged to flee and hide himself, it would be as if he was not.
4. Jamison, “Why should I be deprived of you both? — This refers to the law of
Goelism, by which the nearest of kin would be obliged to avenge the death of Jacob upon
his brother.
5. . CALVI , “Why should I be deprived of you both in one day ? Why does
Rebekah fear a double privation? for there was no danger that Jacob, endued with a
disposition so mild and placid, should rise up against his brother. We see, therefore,
that Rebekah concluded that God would be the avenger of the iniquitous murder.
Moreover, although God, for a time, might seem to overlook the deed, and to
suspend his judgment, it would yet be necessary for him to withdraw from the
parricide. Therefore, by this law of nature, Rebekah declares that she should be
entirely bereaved; because she would be compelled to dread and to detest him who
survived. But if Rebekah anticipated in her mind what the judgment of God would
be, and devoted the murderer to destruction, because she was persuaded that
wickedness so great would not be unpunished; much less ought we to close our eyes
against the manifest chastisements of God
6. JOH trapp, “Ver. 45. And he forget, &c.] While wrongs are remembered, they
are not remitted. He forgives not, that forgets not. When an inconsiderate fellow had
stricken Cato in the bath, and afterwards cried him mercy, he replied, I remember
not that thou didst strike me. (a) Our Henry VI is said to have been of that happy
memory, that he never forgot anything but injuries. Esau was none such: he was of
that sort whom they call πικροχολοι, soon angry, but not soon pleased. His anger
was like "coals of juniper," [Psalms 120:4] which burn extremely, last long (a whole
twelve month about, as some write), and though they seem extinct, revive again: -
7. SCOTT HOEZEE We should feel bad for Esau and we should be none-too-quick

184. to claim that Jacob's actions are readily understandable or justified. In a sense, the
whole thing ends rather badly. It doesn't take too long before Esau's deep hurt
curdles into murderous anger. So long as his father is alive, Esau refuses to break
the old man's heart by ripping Jacob's lungs out. But some evenings after dinner,
Rebekah would see Esau methodically sharpening his hunting knife but all the while
glaring across the room at Jacob. Esau was anything but subtle and so it didn't
require a genius to see what was on his simple mind. So Jacob has to flee. Here,
again, Rebekah manages to make Isaac an unwitting accomplice, convincing him to
send Jacob on his way on the pretense that he'd find a better wife among Laban's
people than the nettlesome little witches Esau had married from among the Hittites.
Isaac agrees and so Jacob steals away in the dead of night, escaping his brother's
fury but leaving his parents for good. So far as we know, Jacob never again saw his
mother alive.
8. MACKI TOSH, “But we are sure to bring unmixed sorrow upon ourselves,
when we take ourselves, our circumstances, or our destinies, out of the hands of
God.* Thus it was with Jacob, as we shall see in the sequel. It has been observed by
another, that whoever observes Jacob's life, after he had surreptitiously obtained his
father's blessing, will perceive that he enjoyed very little worldly felicity. His
brother purposed to murder him, to avoid which he was forced to flee from his
father's house; his uncle Laban deceived him, as he had deceived his father, and
treated him with great rigor; after a servitude of twenty-one years, he was obliged to
leave him in a clandestine manner, and not without danger of being brought back or
murdered by his enraged brother; no sooner were these fears over, than he
experienced the baseness of his son Reuben, in defiling his bed; he had next to
bewail the treachery and cruelty of Simeon and Levi towards the Shechemites; then
he had to feel the loss of his beloved wife; he was next imposed upon by his own
sons, and had to lament the supposed untimely end of Joseph; and, to complete all,
he was forced by famine to go into Egypt, and there died in a strange land. So just,
wonderful, and instructive are all the ways of providence."
As to Rebekah, she was called to feel all the sad results of her cunning actings. She,
no doubt, imagined she was managing matters most skillfully; but, alas! she never
saw Jacob again: so much for management! How different it would have been had
she left the matter entirely in the hands of God. This is the way in which faith
manages, and it is ever a gainer. "Which of you by taking thought, can add to his
stature one cubit?" We gain nothing by our anxiety and planning; we only shut out
God, and that is no gain. It is a just judgement from the hand of God to be left to
reap the fruits, of our own devices; and I know of few things more sad than to see a
child of God so entirely forgetting his proper place and privilege, as to take the
management of his affairs into his own hands. The birds of the air, and the lilies of
the field, may well be our teachers when we so far forget our position of unqualified
dependence upon God.
Jacob was judged for his evil some think, for he did not live as long as Abraham or

185. Isaac. Gen. 25:8; 35:29 and 47:9 He paid for his deception and lies.
Why was it that the sons of Jacob came to him at the
end of his life and told him that Joseph was yet alive?
Jacob had deceived his father with his brother’s coat.
He suffered deceit all his life. At the end, when he
discovered his son Joseph was alive, he realized the
deceit he suffered was God’s reward for the deceit he
perpetrated upon his own father. ow he could sit with
his sons and fellowship with them saying, "Yes, I
deceived my father as you deceived me." Jacob saw
what bitterness there was in deceit. How would he ever
have understood the sinful nature of deceit if it weren’t
for the twenty years he spent grieving over the loss of
his son Joseph? The bitterness of deceit was brought
home to Jacob when upon hearing, "Joseph is still
alive," he learned that his own sons had deceived him.
It is through suffering in times of barrenness that the Lord teaches us the
exceeding sinfulness of sin. In all the twenty years of grieving, Jacob had not
received one hint that Joseph was yet alive. He lived in barrenness to harvest the
fruit of his own sin.
46
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with
living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a
wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite
women like these, my life will not be worth living."
ow she comes up with a good excuse to get Jacob out of the home and country.
She cannot tolerate him getting involved with the local women, and so he needs
to be sent away to get a proper wife.
1. Clarke, “I am weary of my life - It is very likely that Rebekah kept many of the
circumstances related above from the knowledge of Isaac; but as Jacob could not go
to Padan-aram without his knowledge, she appears here quite in her own character,

186. framing an excuse for his departure, and concealing the true cause. Abraham had
been solicitous to get a wife for his son Isaac from a branch of his own family; hence
she was brought from Syria. She is now afraid, or pretends to be afraid, that her son
Jacob will marry among the Hittites, as Esau had done; and therefore makes this to
Isaac the ostensible reason why Jacob should immediately go to Padan-aram, that
he might get a wife there. Isaac, not knowing the true cause of sending him away,
readily falls in with Rebekah‘s proposal, and immediately calls Jacob, gives him
suitable directions and his blessing, and sends him away. This view of the subject
makes all consistent and natural; and we see at once the reason of the abrupt speech
contained in this verse, which should be placed at the beginning of the following
chapter.
1. In the preceding notes I have endeavored to represent things simply as they were.
I have not copied the manner of many commentators, who have labored to vindicate
the character of Jacob and his mother in the transactions here recorded. As I fear
God, and wish to follow him, I dare not bless what he hath not blessed, nor curse
what he hath not cursed. I consider the whole of the conduct both of Rebekah and
Jacob in some respects deeply criminal, and in all highly exceptionable. And the
impartial relation of the facts contained in this and the 25th chapter, gives me the
fullest evidence of the truth and authenticity of the sacred original. How impartial is
the history that God writes! We may see, from several commentators, what man
would have done, had he had the same facts to relate. The history given by God
details as well the vices as the virtues of those who are its subjects. How widely
different from that in the Bible is the biography of the present day! Virtuous acts
that were never performed, voluntary privations which were never borne, piety
which was never felt, and in a word lives which were never lived, are the principal
subjects of our biographical relations. These may be well termed the Lives of the
Saints, for to these are attributed all the virtues which can adorn the human
character, with scarcely a failing or a blemish; while on the other hand, those in
general mentioned in the sacred writings stand marked with deep shades. What is
the inference which a reflecting mind, acquainted with human nature, draws from a
comparison of the biography of the Scriptures with that of uninspired writers? The
inference is this - the Scripture history is natural, is probable, bears all the
characteristics of veracity, narrates circumstances which seem to make against its
own honor, yet dwells on them, and often seeks occasion to Repeat them. It is true!
infallibly true! In this conclusion common sense, reason, and criticism join. On the
other hand, of biography in general we must say that it is often unnatural,
improbable; is destitute of many of the essential characteristics of truth; studiously
avoids mentioning those circumstances which are dishonorable to its subject;
ardently endeavors either to cast those which it cannot wholly hide into deep shades,
or sublime them into virtues. This is notorious, and we need not go far for numerous
examples. From these facts a reflecting mind will draw this general conclusion - an
impartial history, in every respect true, can be expected only from God himself.
2. These should be only preliminary observations to an extended examination of the
characters and conduct of Rebekah and her two sons; but this in detail would be an
ungracious task, and I wish only to draw the reader‘s attention to what may, under

187. the blessing of God, promote his moral good. o pious man can read the chapter
before him without emotions of grief and pain. A mother teaches her favorite son to
cheat and defraud his brother, deceive his father, and tell the most execrable lies!
And God, the just, the impartial God relates all the circumstances in the most ample
and minute detail! I have already hinted that this is a strong proof of the
authenticity of the sacred book. Had the Bible been the work of an impostor, a
single trait of this history had never appeared. God, it is true, had purposed that the
elder should serve the younger; but never designed that the supremacy should be
brought about in this way. Had Jacob‘s unprincipled mother left the matter in the
bands of God‘s providence, her favorite son would have had the precedency in such
a way as would not only have manifested the justice and holiness of God, but would
have been both honorable and lasting to Himself. He got the birthright, and he got
the blessing; and how little benefit did he personally derive from either! What was
his life from this time till his return from Padan-aram? A mere tissue of vexations,
disappointments, and calamities. Men may endeavor to palliate the iniquity of these
transactions; but this must proceed either from weakness or mistaken zeal. God has
sufficiently marked the whole with his disapprobation.
3. The enmity which Esau felt against his brother Jacob seems to have been
transmitted to all his posterity; and doubtless the matters of the birthright and the
blessing were the grounds on which that perpetual enmity was kept up between the
descendants of both families, the Edomites and the Israelites. So unfortunate is an
ancient family grudge, founded on the opinion that an injury has been done by one
of the branches of the family, in a period no matter how remote, provided its
operation still continues, and certain secular privations to one side be the result.
How possible it is to keep feuds of this kind alive to any assignable period, the state
of a neighboring island sufficiently proves; and on the subject in question, the
bloody contentions of the two houses of York and Lancaster in this nation are no
contemptible comment. The facts, however, relative to this point, may be summed
up in a few words. 1. The descendants of Jacob were peculiarly favored by God. 2.
They generally had the dominion, and were ever reputed superior in every respect
to the Edomites. 3. The Edomites were generally tributary to the Israelites. 4. They
often revolted, and sometimes succeeded so far in their revolts as to become an
independent people. 5. The Jews were never subjected to the Edomites. 6. As in the
case between Esau and Jacob, who after long enmity were reconciled, so were the
Edomites and the Jews, and at length they became one people. 7. The Edomites, as a
nation, are now totally extinct; and the Jews still continue as a distinct people from
all the inhabitants of the earth! So exactly have all the words of God, which he has
spoken by his prophets, been fulfilled!
4. On the blessings pronounced on Jacob and Esau, these questions may naturally
be asked. 1. Was there any thing in these blessings of such a spiritual nature as to
affect the eternal interests of either? Certainly there was not, at least as far as might
absolutely involve the salvation of the one, or the perdition of the other 2. Was not
the blessing pronounced on Esau as good as that pronounced on Jacob, the mere
temporary lordship, and being the progenitor of the Messiah, excepted? So it
evidently appears. 3. If the blessings had referred to their eternal states, had not

188. Esau as fair a prospect for endless glory as his unfeeling brother? Justice and mercy
both say - Yes. The truth is, it was their posterity, and not themselves, that were the
objects of these blessings. Jacob, personally, gained no benefit; Esau, personally,
sustained no loss.
2. Gill, “And Rebekah said to Isaac,.... Not what she had told Jacob concerning the
enmity of Esau to Jacob, and his intention to kill him, lest it should grieve him, and bring
his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; but what follows, as an excuse to get Isaac's leave
for Jacob's departure, concealing the true reason of it:
I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; whom Esau had
married, Gen_26:34; who were continually vexing and teasing her by their impiety and
idolatry, their irreligion and profaneness, their disobedience and contradiction, their
froward temper and behaviour:
if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth; as his brother has done, and after
his example, as the best are too apt to be led by bad examples:
such as these which are of the daughters of the land: like those Esau had
married, of the same tribe, or of other of the tribes of the Canaanites, which were in
religion and manners like unto them:
what good shall my life do me? I shall have no comfort in it; death would be more
eligible than such a life: this she said with great vehemence and affection, to move and
work upon Isaac to lay him commands on Jacob, and give him orders and directions to
go to her family and friends, and there take him a wife; and the succeeded according to
her wishes, as the following chapter shows.
3. Henry, “ She impressed Isaac with an apprehension of the necessity of Jacob's going
among her relations upon another account, which was to take a wife, Gen_27:46. She
would not tell him of Esau's wicked design against the life of Jacob, lest it should trouble
him; but prudently took another way to gain her point. Isaac saw as uneasy as he was to
Esau's being unequally yoked with Hittites; and therefore, with a very good colour of
reason, she moves to have Jacob married to one that was better principled. Note, One
miscarriage should serve as a warning to prevent another; those are careless indeed that
stumble twice at the same stone. Yet Rebekah seems to have expressed herself somewhat
too warmly in the matter, when she said, What good will my life do me if Jacob marry a
Canaanite? Thanks be to God, all our comfort is not lodged in one hand; we may do the
work of life, and enjoy the comforts of life, though every thing do not fall out to our
mind, and though our relations be not in all respects agreeable to us. Perhaps Rebekah
spoke with this concern because she saw it necessary, for the quickening of Isaac, to give
speedy orders in this matter. Observe, Though Jacob was himself very towardly, and well
fixed in his religion, yet he had need to be put out of the way of temptation. Even he was
in danger both of following the bad example of his brother and of being drawn into a
snare by it. We must not presume too far upon the wisdom and resolution, no, not of
those children that are most hopeful and promising; but care must be taken to keep them
out of harm's way.

189. 4. Jamison, “Rebekah said to Isaac — Another pretext Rebekah‘s cunning had to
devise to obtain her husband‘s consent to Jacob‘s journey to Mesopotamia; and she
succeeded by touching the aged patriarch in a tender point, afflicting to his pious
heart - the proper marriage of their younger son.
5. CALVI , “And Rebekah said to Isaac. When Jacob might have fled secretly, his
mother, nevertheless, obtains leave for his departure from his father; for so a well-
ordered domestic government and discipline required. In giving another cause than
the true one to her husband, she may be excused from the charge of falsehood;
inasmuch as she neither said the whole truth nor left the whole unsaid. o doubt,
she truly affirms that she was tormented, even to weariness of life, on account of her
Hittite daughters-in-law: but she prudently conceals the more inward evil, lest she
should inflict a mortal wound on her husband: and also, lest she should the more
influence the rage of Esau; for the wicked, often, when their crime is detected, are
the more carried away with desperation. ow, although in consequence of the evil
manners of her daughters-in-law, affinity with the whole race became hateful to
Rebekah, yet in this again the wonderful providence of God is conspicuous, that
Jacob neither blended, nor entangled himself, with the future enemies of the
Church.
6. JOH TRAPP, “Ver. 46. I am weary of my life, &c.] A wise woman, saith an
interpreter, not willing to grieve her husband, she conceals from him Esau’s
malicious hatred of Jacob, and pretends another cause of sending him away, to take
him a fit wife. Let women learn not to exasperate their husbands with quick words
or froward deeds; but study their quiet. Livia, wife to Augustus, (a) being asked how
she could so absolutely rule her husband, answered, By not prying into his actions,
and dissembling his affections, &c.
7. PI K And here the history of Isaac terminates! After charging Jacob not to take
a wife from the daughters of Canaan (Gen. 28:1) he disappears from the scene and
nothing further is recorded of him save his death and burial (Gen. 35:27-29). As
another has said, "instead of wearing out, Isaac rusted out," rusted out as a vessel
no longer fit for the master’s use.
Isaac is laid aside. For forty long years we know nothing of him; he had been, as it
were, decaying away and wasting. The vessel was rusting till it rusted out.
8. PINK,8. PINK,8. PINK,8. PINK, Many are the lessons illustrated and exemplified in the above incident.
We can do little more than name a few of the most important. 1. How many to-
day are, like Esau, bartering Divine privileges for carnal gratification. 2. Beware
of doing evil that good may come. What shame and sorrow they do make for

190. themselves who in their zeal for good do not scruple to use wrong means. Thus it
was with Rebekah and Jacob. 3. Let us seek grace to prevent natural affections
overriding love for God and His revealed will. 4. Remember the unchanging law
of Sowing and Reaping. How striking to observe that it was Rebekah, not Isaac,
who sent her beloved child away! She it was who led him into grievous sin, and
she it was whom God caused to be the instrument of his exile. She, poor thing,
suggested that he find refuge in the home of Laban her brother for "some days."
Little did she imagine that her favorite child would have to remain there for twenty
years, and that never again should she behold him in the flesh. Ah! the mills of
God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small, and we might add "surely." And
during those long years Jacob was to be cheated by Laban as he had cheated
Isaac. 5. Learn the utter futility of seeking to foil God: "So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Rom. 9:16);
either Isaac’s "willing" nor Esau’s "running" could defeat the purpose of Jehovah.
"There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord
that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21). Man proposes but God disposes.
Finally, have we not here, deeply hidden, a beautiful picture of the Gospel. Jacob
found acceptance with his father and received his blessing because he sheltered
behind the name of the father’s firstborn, beloved son, and was clothed with his
garments which diffused to Isaac an excellent odor. In like manner, we as
sinners, find acceptance before God and receive His blessing as we shelter
behind the name of His beloved Firstborn, and as we are clothed with the robe of
righteousness which we receive from Him thus coming before the Father in the
merits of His Son who "hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2).
9. RAY PRITCHARD
Jacob Got What He Wanted, But . . .

191. Think of it this way. In the beginning Jacob didn't have the blessing; in the end he did.
Jacob got what he wanted but because he got it through fraudulent means, it cost him his
own family.
His family is destroyed.
He is penniless.
He is homeless.
He is fleeing for his life.
He is estranged from his brother.
He has humiliated his father.
As far as we know, he never saw his mother Rebekah again.
One last note. Because Jacob left and Esau stayed home, Jacob forfeited all the material
prosperity that would have been his through his inheritance from Isaac.
He got what he wanted . . . but he lost his own family. Why? Because he wouldn't wait on
God. Chuck Swindoll calls waiting the hardest discipline of the Christian life. Psalm
37:15 says, "Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him." Most of us don't want to
be still and we don't want to wait. We want our answers right now.
Two Undeniable Truths
While this story speaks to us on many levels, perhaps the chief lesson has to do with the
importance of waiting on God. We can look at this truth both positively and negatively:
1. Those who wait on the Lord, though it is difficult, will in the end not be disappointed.
2. Those who impatiently try to force God's hand may get what they want but in the
process they will lose everything of value in life.
Let's try a question out for the second time: What are you willing to trade in life in order
to get what you want? Your family? Your friends? Your career? Your children? Your
purity? Your integrity? To say it another way: What kind of deal are you willing to make
in order to force God's hand?
Remember, there are no shortcuts with God. Every shortcut turns out to be a dead-end
street. Those who take short-cuts end up wandering aimlessly through life. Write it down
in big letters: God doesn't need your help to fulfill his will in your life. That's the number-
one lesson of this story. If he wants to give a blessing, he can give it. If he wants to
elevate you, he can do it. If he wants to raise you up to a position of great power, he can
do it.
If God wants Jacob to have the birthright, there's no way Esau can keep it.
If God wants Jacob to have the blessing, there's no way Esau can get it.

192. If God wants Jacob to have the blessing, there's no way Isaac can give it to Esau.
No way! Can't happen. Not in a million years. God doesn't need Jacob's help. Or
Rebekah's either. If God wants to, he can work a miracle or he can arrange the
circumstances or he can simply change Isaac's mind or just strike him dead. God is
infinitely creative when it comes to finding ways of accomplishing his purposes on earth.
But when we interfere, when we try to "help" God out, we only mess things up. The
ironic truth is that whenever we try to "help" God out, we may in fact get whatever it was
we wanted, but the price will be too high.
The Hardest Prayer You Will Ever Pray
A year ago I preached through the Lord's Prayer. When I came to the phrase, "Thy will be
done," I called it "The hardest prayer you will ever pray." After some reflection, I have
changed my mind. I now want to call that "The second hardest prayer you will ever
pray." To pray "Thy will be done" does often seem impossibly difficult. But there is a
prayer even more difficult to pray: "My will be done."
When you pray as Jacob did—"My will be done," God responds by saying, "All right,
then, your will be done, but you're going to be sorry." In the end you'll never regret
saying, "Lord, thy will be done—in your way, in your time, and according to your plan."
A Vow to Wait
Let's make this very practical. If you are like most people, you probably have a hard time
waiting for the things in life you really care about. Take a moment to complete the
following statement:
10. COKE, “Genesis 27:46. I am weary, &c.— See notes on ch. Genesis 26:34, &c. The writers
of theUNIVERSAL History remark, that whosoever narrowly observes Jacob's life, after he had
obtained his father's blessing, will own, that it consisted in nothing less than in worldly felicity, of
which he enjoyed as little perhaps as any man whatever. Forced from his home into a far country,
for fear of his brother; deceived and oppressed by his own uncle, and forced to fly from him after a
servitude of twenty-one years; in imminent danger either of being pursued and brought back by
Laban, or murdered by an enraged brother: these fears are no sooner over, but the baseness of his
eldest son in defiling his couch; the treachery and cruelty of the two next to the Shechemites; and,
lastly, the loss of his beloved wife, and supposed untimely end of his son Joseph: all these
overwhelmed him with fresh successions of grief; and, to complete all, his being forced by famine to
descend into AEgypt, and to die in a strange land; these, and many more, are sufficient proofs that
his father's blessing was of a quite different nature, and consisted chiefly in these two
particulars; viz. the possession of the land of Canaan, in right of primogeniture, which his brother
had sold him, and which rather belonged to hisPOSTERITY than to himself; the other and more
glorious one was, that of the Messiah's being born of his race, and not of that of Esau.
REFLECTIONS.—Observe, 1. The natural effects of disappointed pride appear in Esau's hatred
and revenge. Though loth to grieve his aged father, and draw down his curse, he however thinks he

193. has not long to wait, and then Jacob shall pay dearly for his cunning. Note; (1.) He is not the last
wicked son, who is pleased with the hopes of his father's death. (2.) Marvel not, if brother rise
against brother, when religion is concerned: it was so from the beginning.
2. Rebekah resolves to disappoint his purposes. She admonishes Jacob of his danger, and advises
him to give way by yielding and absence. Note; Distance of time and place wears off, or weakens
the impressions of resentment. She justly fears lest she should be deprived of both sons at once, by
the murder of one and the execution of the other. The thought of a son a murderer must needs be
shocking to every parent.
3. She conceals from Isaac Esau's purpose, but finds a very urgent reason for his consent to her
design, by pleading the danger of Jacob's marrying a Canaanite, and that such a step would make
her life miserable. Note; (1.) Parents are greatly interested in the settlement of their children. (2.)
Where one child hath settled wrong, they should be doubly careful of those who remain.