JACOB GETS ISAAC’S BLESSING

Genesis 25:19-34; 27:1-46, Key Verse; 27:33

1. Skim through 25:19-34 and describe how Jacob got the birthright from Esau. What does this event show us about Jacob and Esau?
2. Read verses 1-10 of chapter 27. What did Isaac want to do before he died? What was Rebekah's counter-plan?
3. Read verses 11-17. How did Jacob respond? How did Rebekah push him?
4. Skim through 18-29. How did Jacob take advantage of his father's blindness and deceive him? What were the blessings Isaac gave Jacob?
5. Skim through 30-46. When Esau came in and identified himself, what did Isaac tell him? What did Esau say about Jacob (36)? What does this passage tell us about Jacob? What decision did Esau resolve to do (41)? What did Rebekah decide to do (42-46)?

JACOB GETS ISAAC’S BLESSING

Genesis 25:19-34; 27:1-40, Key Verses 27:33

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.”

Do you like Jacob? When we take a surface level look at Jacob, we don't like him much. Maybe because he is like us! His name came to mean "deceiver", and in this lesson we see why. But when we take a closer look at Jacob, we are amazed to discover that he was a truly great man. His strong human character made it difficult for him to become an ancestor of faith. But God chose him from his mother's womb to be the bearer of the covenant, and a patriarch of faith.

Part I: “First Sell Me Your Birthright” (25:19-34)

Isaac’s family was established by God and for God, but strangely this godly couple had a very serious problem. Do you know what? Yes! Rebekah was barren. So Isaac prayed for 20 years on behalf of her. Finally, God answered his prayer, Rebekah was pregnant. But the twin babies in her womb pushed each other within her womb. Maybe they were having a wrestling match, and neither of them wanted to lose. Msn Susanna’s baby recently has started to move and kick, so she can understand what is happening in this passage. Rebekah was shocked. When she prayed to God, what did God say to her? Read verse 23; “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 

God revealed that he had a special plan for the younger. When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twin boys. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau, which means what? Yes, “Red.” After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob, which means what? Yes, “He grasps.” It seemed that Jacob was weaker, and lost the wrestling match, but he did not think it was the end; Jacob knew he would have his day. Esau became a skillful hunter. In our terms, he was a macho man like Tom Cruise. His father, Isaac who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau. But Jacob was a quiet man staying home, helping his mother in the kitchen like Emeril Lagasse. Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. 

According to human standard, Esau was a more desirable person than Jacob because he was a man, decisive, tough, and strong. He spent many hours lifting weights in the gym. He was popular among the women and he dated many different girls. Maybe, he was a leader among his peers. But Jacob was a mama’s boy, with smooth skin, staying with his mother – probably, his hobby was cooking. Esau was strong, but Jacob was weak. In real life the younger always serves the older. In the military the foot soldiers serve the Generals. In school, freshmen always have to give way to seniors. But God said that the older would serve the younger. In God’s eyes, Jacob, not Esau, was leadership material. In God’s eyes, Jacob was great, but Esau was not. What made Jacob better material in God’s eyes? 

We do not know exactly, but today’s passage gives us a clue; it was his character. Even though Jacob lost the wrestling match, still he did not give up; instead, he grasped Esau’s heel, showing his never-give-up character; he would fight for something he valued to the end until he got it. He was a man of strong character. Right now, he was not great, but because of his strong character, he was a diamond in the rough. Once he was refined in God, this kind of character would be used for God’s glory. Jacob was material for a father of many nations. Esau was strong physically, but he was a pushover who could not control his hunger. He sold his birthright for a bowl of soup; he was a thoughtless man. 

The next passage describes how Jacob came to acquire the birthright from Esau. One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew in the kitchen, Esau came in from the open country. Esau had worked all day to hunt but found nothing, and he was very hungry. Suddenly, he smelled delicious red lentil stew from the kitchen. He ran to the kitchen and saw Jacob cooking some stew for his lunch. To Esau, it looked so delicious that he asked Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I am famished.” (30) Did Jacob give it to him freely? No! Jacob replied, “First, sell me your birthright.” (31) Wow! Jacob had not given up the birthright struggle! Esau was the firstborn son, and Jacob was the second; it was his fate! There was nothing that could change this fate. 

But still, he was thinking about it. He lost this battle at his mother’s womb, but still, even after having grown up, he was fighting – still he was grasping Esau’s heel. At his birth, he showed his inborn nature by coming out his mother’s womb with his hands grasping Esau’s heel. Now he knew the value of the birthright. At the present moment, it would not give him any benefit, but later, it would give him great glory, wealth and honor. Even though he lost it to Esau by fate, once he knew its value, he did not give up, but pursued it. He never forgot about it. When he finally had a chance, when his brother was desperate for the soup he had prepared, he boldly submitted his hidden card saying, “First sell me your birthright.”

Then what did Esau say? “Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?” (32) He sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. At that time, the firstborn had the right to inherit everything from his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham and all ancestors of faith. This birthright would bring him glory, honor and wealth in the future, but since it did not give him any practical benefit at the present moment when he was hungry, Esau exchanged it for a bowl of soup. Esau only thought about ‘here and now.’ Verse 34 says, “So Esau despised his birthright.” He despised ‘the invisible value’ that would give him honor and glory and wealth in the future—so later he was rejected from receiving any blessing from God. God could not entrust his covenant promise to Esau, who was unspiritual and sold his right for a single meal. So God rejected him.

Jacob and Esau are the two symbols of people’s value system. Jacob is the representative of those who value the invisible birthright that will give them glory and honor; and they even bear all difficulties and challenges because of this hope. On the contrary, Esau is the representative of those who live with the idea of “here and now.” Living as children of God is truly great because it comes with the promise of great inheritance. Jesus says in Matthew 25:34, “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” If we keep this birthright as children of God, then, it will bring to us glory and honor in the future. But the problem is that, as we hold onto this invisible birthright, we are hungry, and even sometimes, we feel famished! 

Sometimes, especially when we see our worldly friends building up their careers in the world successfully, we feel like saying, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” Many people despise this birthright because they cannot find any practical benefit right now. What they want is quick gratification, an easy life, and pleasures here and now, not painful self-denial, or cross-taking. So when they have to go through hunger, persecution, and rejection because of their faith, they are shocked, and quickly change their mind, saying, “That is not what I wanted,” and they sell their birthright for momentary luxury, convenience and easy life. These days, many young people sell their birthright in God for their sinful pleasures. So they have a lot of time for their pleasures but a little time for God and God’s mission. Then they easily turned down God’s calling and went after the comfort and luxury of the world for quick benefits. 

In this way, they despised the invisible value of God’s calling like Esau. The Bible calls these people “godless men.” Hebrews 12:16-17 says, “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.” God’s calling is for the future glory and honor we will receive in heaven. Those who know its value pursue it with all their hearts. So God says in Malachi 1:2, “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.” Wow! Do you want to live like Esau or like Jacob? Let’s pray that we may keep our birthright as children of God, protect it from all harms and temptations, and cherish it with all our hearts. This birthright eventually will change everything, and bring to us true glory and honor in the kingdom of God.

Part II: Jacob Gets Isaac’s Blessing (27:1-40) 

When Isaac was old, his eyes were so weak that he became fatalistic. Actually, he would not die for another 60 years. But because of his blindness, he thought that he would die soon, so he was determined to give his blessing to his first son Esau. Isaac asked Esau to go hunting, and prepare tasty food for him so that after eating, he might bless him. Rebekah overheard this conversation. Then, while Esau was outside hunting the game, Rebekah told Jacob to bring her two goats so that she could prepare some tasty food for her husband. They devised a plan to take advantage of Isaac’s blindness, and get his blessing for Jacob. At first, Jacob was afraid that this plan could be busted very easily, since he and Esau were too different from each other, in voice, in skin, and in smell. 

What did Rebekah say to Jacob? Verse 13 says, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” Then, Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau and put them on Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then, she handed to Jacob the tasty food. When we come to this part in the Bible, we are shocked. Many young people exclaim, “She has deceived her husband. She is wrong!” But the Bible never blames her. She did so because it was God’s will that Jacob should be God’s covenant person after Isaac. Also, we see her great respect for her husband as a servant of God. She honored her husband highly as a servant of God. She believed that once he blessed anyone, that person would indeed be blessed. There would be no revoke or a second chance. In her spiritual eyes, Isaac must bless Jacob, not Esau. So she did what she could do in order to serve God’s will. 

Verses 18-29 describe how Jacob acted out, deceived his father successfully, and secured God’s covenant blessing. How hard he struggled to change his voice so that it might sound like the voice of Esau! How scared he was when his father, out of suspicion, asked him to come near and touched his neck! He carefully made sure that his father would touch the covered part with the goatskins. How anxious he must have been sitting while his father was eating! Maybe, his palms were wet with sweat. He had to finish this job before his brother Esau came back. When we see this scene with a humanistic point of view, what Jacob did is not acceptable – he cheated his father, and snatched away the blessing that would go to Esau his brother. Telling a lie is wrong. 

But the Bible never blames Jacob. Instead, we can see Jacob’s desperate desire and struggle to secure his father’s blessing. But it was just the words of his father blessing him – it would not change anything right now. At the present moment, it would not give him any benefit. But by faith he valued this invisible blessing of God. To him, his father’s words of blessing were exceedingly important and valuable that he did not mind to tell lies to his father if he could secure it. He valued his father’s blessing so highly that he dared cheat him and even was willing to risk a curse if he could secure it. His father was God’s covenant person, and his blessing would be God’s covenant blessing. Jacob was determined to do anything whether good or bad if he could secure this blessing of God from his father. 

In this way, Jacob pursued God’s blessing with all his heart because he valued it highly above all things, above ethics and morals. Surely, he tried to secure God’s blessing as a matter of life and death. As a result, he came to enjoy God’s blessing. But these days, people do not value God’s blessing that highly. Instead, people value money and pleasures. They are willing to do anything for money and pleasures – they are willing to abandon God’s calling for the sake of securing a promising job. For some good amount of quick and easy money, some people risk their life and become bank-robbers. It is very easy to find this kind of people around us, but it is very hard to find anyone who is so completely determined to pursue God’s blessing as a matter of life and death like Jacob did. Surely when God finds that kind of person, he is overjoyed, and pours out his blessing on him. 

God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jesus says in Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Those who value God’s blessing highly and pursue it are the ones who will enjoy God’s blessing. These forceful men for God’s kingdom purpose serve God’s will in their generation. Amen! After Isaac finished blessing Jacob, Esau came in from a long day of hunting. What did he say to his father? “My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” (31) His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.” What was Isaac’s response? Look at verse 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!” Isaac found out that he had ended up blessing Jacob not Esau.

These days, people easily say, “Oh, that’s my mistake. I am sorry. Let me do it again.” It is like hitting Undo on your computer. But Isaac was different. When he blessed, he meant it, and he truly believed that his blessing would come true. Rebekah helped Jacob to receive Isaac’s blessing because of her absolute faith in God, and in her husband as God’s servant. Jacob got Isaac’s blessing because of his absolute determination to get God’s blessing. Isaac blessed Jacob by his absolute faith in God who would do what he said. It was the work of faith that God’s blessing flowed from Isaac to Jacob. When Esau was robbed of his blessing, his heart trembled with injustice and he let out a loud bitter cry, “Bless me too, my father!” (38b) After losing his blessing, Esau wept bitterly, begged his father for another blessing, but there was no blessing left for him. Thus, he was rejected from God’s redemptive history.

*Conclusion: Modern day, people’s main concern is about “here and now.” Children growing up with TV and Computer and Video Games look for quick gratification; simply, they cannot wait for anything, but need continuous stimulation. Modern day culture promotes Esau’s value system. But when we come to the word of God, we learn Jacob’s value system. Through studying the word of God, we learn to value the invisible blessings of God and wait for them. Let’s pray that we may live in the future with the sure promises of God’s word and pursue God’s blessing all the time. Do you want to live like Jacob or like Esau? May God raise 12 One to One Bible teachers among us who value and pursue God’s blessing like Jacob through our Genesis Bible study and our summer ministry!