Genesis 27

Jacob Acquires Esau’s Blessing
Or
Not Only Does Jacob Find Lying Easy,
But He Also Enjoys Dressing Up


Again and again, I find myself convinced that the impact, truth, and depth of the Patriarchal stories in Genesis lie within the day-to-day humanity of the characters’ lives. These were real people, with real problems, with real issues, who tended to screw up quite often. And I find lots of hope and help in that fact, not because they’re broken, but because, in that brokenness, we can grow along with these characters. For far too long, the Church has idolized these men and women, but I take issue with that, not because they’re not worthy of study and respect, but because they are fallen humans, just as we are today.

Thus, with this third confrontation between Esau and Jacob, we gain yet another glimpse into how families, as wonderful and blessed by the Lord as they seem to be, struggle with their sin natures. These struggles come to the surface both in the lives of each individual and in how they four characters in this story interact with each other. Therefore, as I sift through the notes from several commentaries, the major theme of this story (and the rest of Genesis, in fact) seems to be how Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau grapple with the juxtaposition of blessing and duplicity, in conjunction with how this results of the events of this passage bear out across the rest of the book of Genesis. (Brueggemann, p227) Just as in Genesis 25, the two parents have chosen sides, the twins have made their preferences known, and all four equally honor and disparage the blessing. And in a bit of foreshadowing, since history has this sad and frustrating way of repeating, Israel as a nation, throughout the Old Testament and into the Gospels, embroils itself in this internal conflict over earning, deserving, and actually living as in the blessing.

The concepts of blessing and birthright, as we have seen in regards to the relationship between Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac, are often hard for the modern reader to understand. To bless one child over another signifies the transference of material blessing from the parents onto their children, with the eldest son receiving a double share compared to his other siblings, a share that usually meant that child would take over the running of the family upon the death of the father. (Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, p58-59) Thus, as Isaac realizes that he doesn’t have much time left on the earth, he wants to set into motion the events by which Esau, the son he favors, will take over the family. But little does he know that his wife was intently and purposefully listening to their conversation, much as Sarah eavesdropped upon Abraham and his heavenly visitors. (Frankel, p44-45)

We learned in Genesis 25 that Rebekah did receive the prophecy from God that The Twins warring within her would war their entire lives and would foster nations that would be at odds throughout history, with the specific mention that the youngest would be served by the eldest. I would imagine that she shared this prophecy with her husband, so the questions that I immediately ask myself when I begin reading of the conflicting interests of The Twins’ parents are, “Why do these two perpetually seek to serve their own purposes? Didn’t Isaac grow up in a house with a Mom and Dad who chose to take God’s promises into their own hands, much the eventual chagrin of Hagar and Ishmael?” One would think that Isaac would have learned that, no matter what humans might attempt, God’s promises find a way of coming to pass on God’s terms and not humanity’s.

Rebekah and Isaac knew that the younger child would rule over the elder, yet their actions lead me to believe that they really didn’t take that promise of God into account. Their initial choosing of favorites back in Genesis 25 simply laid the groundwork for the turmoil that would boil over in Genesis 27. Isaac’s preference for Esau obviously includes his preference for Esau as the primary heir, not precluding the culturally appropriate practice of primogeniture. Rebekah’s preference for Jacob isn’t specified in Genesis 25, but one could intuit that she preferred him because the prophecy declared him to be the eventual, historical victor. However, such a preference does not explain why she decided to deceive her husband and attempt to force God’s hand into making Jacob to be the heir and recipient of the blessing and birthright. Why does Rebekah not believe that the prophecy will come true without her direct intervention? If they are as close as Genesis 25 tells us they are, would not Jacob have already told his mother that he had bought the birthright for a bowl of soup?

I say all of that to say this – the deception occurred and all of the participants in this sordid, domestic power play suffered from it in the long run. But, you might ask, “What did Esau and Isaac do wrong here? Don’t the details of this story lead us to believe that it Rebekah and Jacob who should bear the brunt of the guilt and shame on display here in this story?” And I would respond to you, stating, “Oh yes. Rebekah and Jacob were at fault, but we should not ignore Esau’s contempt for the birthright (Genesis 25:34) nor Isaac’s deliberate ignorance of the prophecy and subsequent predilection for Esau.” So, in order to better describe the overarching outcomes of these events, let’s take a short walk through the essential details of this tale.

After hearing about Isaac and Esau’s preparations for the blessing of Esau, Rebekah counters by preparing a meal, covering Jacob in animal fur, and placing him in Esau’s clothing, all to trick her husband in his old age. Jacob’s only complaint concerning his mother’s plan was his initial reticence concerning his lack of hair; Jacob himself had purchased the birthright for a bowl of soup. Just because Esau misunderstood and despised the birthright didn’t mean that Jacob could step in and take advantage of the situation. Once in the tent, bearing the food so that he might receive the blessing, Jacob lies to his father about his identity, in regards to his voice, skin quality, and smell (as the text tells us how poor Isaac’s eyesight was). Isaac blesses Jacob, Jacob leaves quickly, and Esau enters. Esau asks his father for his blessing, and when Isaac tells him that he has already given out the blessing to someone else that had identified themselves as Esau, both men instantly realize that Jacob has deceived them. To top it off, Esau was very specific in his awakening – he declared that since Jacob had again deceived him, having first taken the birthright, he would launch a search for his brother in order to kill him, but only after the death of his father. Rebekah again overhears Isaac and Esau talking and tells Jacob where to run in order to escape his brother’s wrath.

Whew! I hope that I didn’t lose you back there in our attempt at summarizing. I know that we moved through the chapter at break-neck speed in that last paragraph, but we needed to do so in order to debate and discuss what this story really means to the overall story of God’s people in Genesis. What we have here is a chapter full of foreshadowing – from Rebekah’s decision to take on the curse from Jacob for their deception, to Jacob’s taking of the birthright, to Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and proclamation of perpetual tumult in Esau’s life, to Esau’s declaration of intent to murder his manipulative and lying brother, all the way to Jacob’s flight from home to Rebekah’s brother Laban’s household. Each instance of wrongdoing towards a family member comes back to haunt them later in Genesis.

Thus, this chapter is a turning point for the rest of the story as it sets the table for Jacob’s troubles: his obtaining a wife, the issues between his wives, the conflicts between his children, and the clashes between him and his children. As we will see in our next few chapters, Jacob will serve his uncle Laban for 20 years in order to marry Rachel, his wives and concubines will not get along due to their differing levels of fertility (in what seems to be a recurring theme in the stories of the Patriarchs), his sons will gang up upon Joseph (the son he prefers, though he should know that preferring one son over another causes more grief than it’s worth), and that conflict with Joseph will cause his sons to deceive their father with goat’s blood when they sell Joseph away. Moreover, Rebekah’s adoption of Jacob’s curse does not go unpunished – she dies before Jacob ever returns to his home, having never seen her wide collection of grandchildren.

Once again, in yet another fatalistic turn of events, human attempts to play God have gone awry. Both Rebekah and Isaac, having chosen sides, have perpetuated domestic strife in the tents of the Patriarchs; one son, already at odds with the other due to their personality differences and an earlier deception, is now intent upon killing the other. Isaac ignored the prophecy and looked to impose the birthright upon Esau, while Rebekah used trickery to sneak Jacob into receiving the blessing, even though she knew that Jacob was already supposed to be the chosen one. The Patriarchs do not seem to be able to listen to the voice of God, obey the directives of God, or believe the prophecies of God, after praying to God for directions. This chapter is a microcosm of the bulk of the book of Genesis; it is an indictment of human nature when it chooses to pay only lip service to the role of God in their lives. By choosing their own methods, plans, and strategies, The Patriarchs only suffer when God only seeks to bless them, which is a bit ironic, since they ARE supposed to be God’s Chosen People.