Genesis 27 Devotional Bible Study

Genesis 27 Chapter Summary

Isaac went blind when he was older. Not knowing when he would die, he called Esau to go hunt and prepare some food for him, after which he would give Esau his blessing as the firstborn. But Rebekah heard the conversation and told Jacob to cook some food and dress in Esau's clothes so that he would smell like his brother to trick his father and take the blessing of the firstborn. They even put goat hair on Jacob's hands so that he would feel hairy like Esau. 

Isaac was suspicious but ultimately pronounced the blessing over Jacob, making him "lord over your brothers."

 

When Jacob left, Esau came in, and Isaac realized he had been tricked. Not being able to take back the original blessing given to Jacob, Isaac blessed Esau with the ability to get out from under Jacob's control "when you grow restless."

 

Then Esau vowed to kill Jacob when Isaac died. Rebekah heard him and told Isaac to send Jacob away to get a wife from her family so that he wouldn't marry a Canaanite.

 

 

Sin Leads to Missed Opportunities

Let’s count the sins in this passage:

1. Rebekah tempts Jacob into deceiving Isaac and then actively helps him do it

2. Jacob goes along with the plan, only objecting on the basis that he might get caught

3. Jacob blasphemes the Lord by saying He helped him in his fake hunting expedition (Note: blasphemy is saying anything about the Lord that’s untrue.)

4. Esau becomes so angry that he plans to kill Jacob

5. Isaac does not call Jacob to account for his actions

And why did all these people commit their respective sins? Because they were selfish!

Jacob wanted to benefit at his brother’s expense. Rebekah wanted to see her favorite son get more of the inheritance. Isaac didn’t say anything (I’m conjecturing at this point) because he didn’t want to get Rebekah mad at him for punishing Jacob. Remember, at this point, Isaac was blind and needed Rebekah to take care of him. Esau put his hurt feelings above righteousness.

We might argue that Rebekah did what she did to fulfill what the Lord had told her when she was pregnant: “the older will serve the younger.” But the Lord didn’t need Rebekah’s help. He certainly didn’t need her to sin to bring about His will. “Helping” the Lord fulfill His promise is what got Abraham and Sarah in trouble when they asked Hagar to have Abraham’s child.

I think the lesson for us here is to not worry about ourselves – what we want, what we can get out of a situation, what we feel – but to take our hands off, stand back, and let the Lord do what He will do and then accept what comes to us from Him. He is the Source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) and His plan of how to work a situation will always be better than ours.

Who knows how God could have brought harmony to this family while still arranging it so that “the older will serve the younger”? He could have made Jacob such a respectable man and given Esau such a soft heart that Esau would have willingly served his younger brother. They simply needed to get their selfishness out of the way to give the Lord a free hand to work.

How can the Lord arrange things in your life? Can you be patient and let Him work?