Isaac Blessed His Sons
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Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
We’re continuing a series that I call Family!, a look at several of the notable men and women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Today we’re looking at Isaac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau.
Isaac was the son of Abraham and the result of a promise that God made to Abraham and Sarah that he would father an heir and a great nation would follow. This promise was a blessing that God spoke over Abraham, who passed it onto his son, Isaac.
Isaac was married to Rebekah, who was a woman of great assertiveness and action. Together Isaac and Rebekah parented the twins, Jacob and Esau. Being a twin myself, I was always interested in this account of the birth of Jacob and Esau. Scripture tells us that these twins were conceived as the result of God’s grace in answer to Isaac’s prayer, since Rebekah was previously unable to have children.
Infertility or “barrenness” is the word that the Bible often uses to describe those who cannot give birth to children. It was not an uncommon problem in Bible times and surprisingly, it is not uncommon today. This problem can cause an enormous amount of psychological distress in women and men as well, who often want nothing more than to have the experience of giving birth and providing and caring for a child.
However difficult this problem and be and the amount of mental anguish it can afflict, the Bible is clear in showing that God’s great abundance can, at times, be poured out on believers who pray fervently for a child.
This was the case for Isaac and Rebekah. However, Rebekah did not have an easy pregnancy. This is described here...
22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
My twin brother and I often fought and wrestled as we were growing up.
Early pic #1
50th Birthday Pic
Recent pic
My mother describes having to move our cribs apart because when our cribs were placed next to each other, either my brother or I would reach through and grab hold of the other refusing to let go. And of course this caused a great deal of crying and loss of sleep. However, I never heard my mother say that God told her that there were two nations in her womb.
When the twins were born, Esau was born first and Jacob was born grasping Esau’s heel, which is often interpreted as an image of Jacob’s striving to be born first.
We’re going to pick up today’s text at a point where these twin boys had become men. They were actually quite different from each other as the text explains in Genesis 25...
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. 30 He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom. 31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. 34 Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.
[pray]
The scriptural account of Jacob and Esau’s relationship is unusually detailed. There was a great deal of strife between the brothers throughout their lives. The strife and struggling in their relationship fostered a dysfunctional and difficult family life that rippled out into the extended family.
I. What is the birthright?
I. What is the birthright?
This early event where Jacob purchased Esau’s birthright for a meal sets off a series of events that colored the relationships of these two men and their families for the rest of their lives and beyond as each brother fathered nations that were at odds throughout their history.
This birthright, as I have explained a time or two throughout this series is a mark of a patriarchal society where the inheritance of the father is passed down to the firstborn son [however sometimes to another son or heir]. This inheritance varied in tradition. The father might divide up the land and give a portion to each son, or at times the firstborn might get a double portion of the inheritance. Occasionally, when there were no sons the daughters might benefit from an inheritance, though you’ll remember that the daughters were required to marry within the family tribe to keep the inheritance within the family.
In this case, at some point long before their father was aged, Jacob manipulates (or takes advantage of ) his brother Esau, taking advantage of his ravenous hunger, by extracting a promise from him that Jacob would receive Esau’s birthright privilege.
The version I am reading, the Christian Standard, says that “Esau despised his birthright” while the Spanish version that I use, the Nueva Biblia de las Americas, says that Esau devalued his birthright. When we look at the Hebrew, the word בָּזָה bazah could potentially be translated as “despised” but I think a better interpretation might be that Esau was “careless with” his birthright, bargaining it away for a simple meal.
In the case of Esau’s birthright as the firstborn son, He was of the line of Abraham, through Isaac. This meant that Esau’s birthright was something special and the blessing that he stood to inherit was probably something that he understood.
It’s interesting to note here that, while Jacob is exploiting his brother, Esau is forsaking what he believes is his by right and he is acting casually with the blessing of the Lord.
Some biblical interpreters see this statement as an implication that “Esau’s decision regarding his religious heritage disqualified him to succeed his father” as the leader of the family. [K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 395.]
After the stew incident, the boys continued their lives in normal ways. They were married and pursued their interests and had families. There is evidence in scripture that there continued to be a lot of conflict and poor family relations between the sons and their families.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hethite. 35 They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
This family dysfunction between Esau’s family and the rest of the family is similar what some of our families experience today....
We see mothers that meddle in the affairs of their children.
We see brothers and sisters compete with each other for their parents’ attention and favor.
Often times this competition extends beyond the death of their parents and creates a deep-seated bitterness that is never resolved.
I have seen siblings argue over the care of a beloved parent that lies on their death bed in intensive care.
I’ve seen that and worse things happen between “family” and so-called “loved ones.”
II. The Blessing Stolen
II. The Blessing Stolen
It is not until later in their father’s live that Isaac called Esau to come to him so that he could pass on the blessing. This seems to indicate that Isaac was either unaware of what happened between the brothers or had decided that Esau should receive the blessing.
Isaac called Esau and asked him to go hunting and bring back some wild game and prepare a meal for him. Scripture says that Isaac wanted to bless Esau before his death.
Rebekah, their mother, was listening and conspired with Jacob to secure the blessing that she felt belonged to Jacob. So they set about to deceive Isaac and receive the blessing before Esau could return from his hunting trip.
Scripture makes it clear that Rebekah’s purpose was to deceive Isaac and secure the blessing for Jacob, her favorite son.
Jacob did as he was told and took the meal to his father. His father suspected that there was something out of order. Since he was blind, he could not see Jacob, but he didn’t recognize the voice to be Esau’s.
Jacob persisted in the lie, telling his father that he was Esau. When Isaac wasn’t convinced, he asked to touch him and feel his hairy arms. But Jacob had covered himself with animal skins so that his tender hands and hairless arms would not give him away.
When Isaac was still unsure he asked his son to come closer and smelled Esau’s clothes with his familiar scent. Only then did Isaac provide the blessing.
28 May God give to you— from the dew of the sky and from the richness of the land— an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you. Be master over your relatives; may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.
Of course, Esau came along later and prepared the meal to give to his father, but Isaac was confused.
32 But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.” 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”
Isaac knew at this point that he had given the blessing, a unique and special blessing, to someone other than his chosen son. This was more than an inheritance that Isaac had given to Jacob, it was the blessing of God that his father had passed down to him.
Esau was distraught and begged for a similar blessing. They guessed correctly that it was Jacob who had stolen the blessing that Isaac intended for Esau.
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 35 But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” 36 So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
At this point Isaac broke the news to Esau that he had mistakenly blessed Jacob with a favorable blessing that also enslaved Esau, his family, and all his servants and there was nothing he could do to change it or revoke the blessing.
Desperately, Esau begged for a blessing, but he could only receive a curse...
39 His father Isaac answered him, Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above. 40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will break his yoke from your neck.
Notice that Esau’s so-called “blessing” was quite different from Jacob’s blessing. In fact, it was more of a curse than a blessing.
Blessings & Curses
Blessings & Curses
This idea of blessing and cursing are intertwined in scripture. We often see God balance out the idea of blessings for those that believe in him and follow his ways, while curses are dealt to those who reject him and refuse to follow his ways.
Blessing - a wish, expression, or gift for the wellbeing of another. In cases of divine blessing it becomes an act in favor of the one being blessed.
Curse - a word intended to bring about a negative result for another. In the case of God a curse may be an action that punishes a person or people.
It seems that while Isaac wanted to give a blessing to Esau, he could only pass God’s blessing to one of his sons. This appears to be about much more than the inheritance of land and other material things. Once Jacob had received the blessing, it seemed to be irrevocable and angered both Isaac and Esau.
I find it interesting that there is no mention of the previous event where Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, though Jacob seemed to remember and conspired with his mother to take it by means of deception from Esau.
This event further divided the twin brothers...
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides—45 until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
What happened to Isaac’s family?
What happened to Isaac’s family?
Isaac was definitely God’s man. Evidence for this is shown throughout scripture. Isaac had been presented as a living sacrifice to God and spared from death by God’s own hand. We are urged to follow his example by Paul in his letter to the Romans...
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
In spite of Isaac’s relationship with God, Jacob and Esau divided the family. Isaac and Rebekah seemingly played their part by playing favorites and, on Rebekah’s part, bringing deception and manipulation into the way of taking care of family business.
This still happens today when Christian families take God’s plan and throw it out the window so that they can implement their own plan and gain control of situations.
Why did God allow this?
Why did God allow this?
The Bible never endorses Jacob and Rebekah’s actions, though it does not necessarily rebuke them either.
However, scripture is clear that Esau sinned against God by “despising his birthright” (25:34) when he sold it to Jacob.
16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal.
The text is surprisingly absent of any judgment on this family, though it might be observed that:
Esau was characterized as immoral and irreverent.
Esau despised or devalued the blessing of the Lord and allowed it to be passed onto Jacob.
Esau took two pagan women as his wives.
Isaac seemed more interested his his own self-gratification in requesting a favorite meal of his son.
Isaac was not holding his firstborn son to following God’s ways
Isaac seemed to be playing favorites with his selection of Esau.
Rebekah was clearly manipulative and deceptive. In fact she went all-in on the deception of Esau.
Rebekah involved Jacob in her deception.
Rebekah was also playing favorites, working on behalf of Jacob rather than Esau.
Jacob was a deceiver and a liar.
Jacob blasphemed against God saying that “the Lord your God granted me success” in his hunt (20b).
Jacob endured through the deception: hearing, smelling, touching, and lying.
Every person in this story sinned against God. Nobody came out of this smelling like a rose. We can see the results of ambition, jealousy, envy, lying, deceit, coveting, malice, manipulation, and stubbornness.
They all had consequences to pay for their behavior.
Jacob and Rebekah were not without consequence in that Jacob had to flee home. Both Jacob and Rebekah had to endure this separation for twenty years.
Additionally Jacob, the deceiver, was also deceived by his father-in-law, Laban, who made him marry Rachel’s homely sister, Leah, and he was forced to wait before he could marry the woman of his own choosing.
The telling detail here is that God predicted this outcome from the very beginning when the twin boys were born. God told Rebekah...
23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
So, while all the manipulation and self-serving behavior worked out in the open, God was working his plan and bringing it to fruition. God knew all along that the older brother would wind up serving the younger brother in the end.
Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Esau’s Defeat (vv. 30–40)
But in and above this is something of immense beauty and grandeur—the invincible determination of God to keep his word despite the prevailing unbelief and unfaithfulness of his people. God fulfilled his word despite Isaac’s opposition, despite Rebekah and Jacob’s manipulation, and despite Esau’s indifference.
Conclusion
Conclusion
There may not be anybody here today that has experienced anything quite like our biblical family experience, however odds are that some here are experiencing or have experienced some family dysfunction in their lives.
My prayer is that your family can grow beyond this kind of behavior. And while people and families can act in ungodly and self-serving ways with each other, I know that God can work through these situations to bring people closer to a life of faith in him.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of Jacob’s life. We’ll have to come back to it at some point in the future. But know that Jacob, the liar and the deceiver, was truly called back to a life of faith. In fact, after wrestling with God and experiencing much more than we have time to cover, Jacob received a new name from God...
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Jacob, the liar, came to be known as Israel, a prince of God.
No matter who you are as a believer, you might find yourself in the middle of your sin and living out the consequences of your poor actions. But God is indeed a good father, who is determined to bring us along a path of faith, and completion, and restoration—even when we resist it.
I know some of you have children who are far from God. But God knows them and he knows who He made them to be.
11 This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
God will always be faithful with his unfaithful children. He will be faithful to his word and he will take care of his own.