In verses 1-4 we reach the time when Isaac was old, and his eyesight had gone. He believed he was near to death although it is thought that he lived a further 40 years. It seemed that he still wanted to bless Esau even though God had said at the birth of the twin boys that the blessing would go through Jacob. Maybe he didn’t know or wanted to forget that Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob some time before. He simply wanted to indulge himself with his favourite food and so he asked Esau to go and hunt game for him and make him the savoury food he loved.
In this chapter we have a sad picture of family life full of jealousy and deceit. The home seemed to have degenerated into an unhappy place. We have said before that Isaac favoured Esau, largely because of self-gratification. Esau’s behaviour in marrying Canaanite women showed his contempt for God’s order. He also would have known that Jacob was going to be blessed by God and had sold, as unimportant, his birthright to Jacob, but maybe he thought that he could circumvent all that by doing his father a favour.
How careful we must be as the years roll by, in not forgetting God’s instructions and becoming easy-going and lacking in spiritual judgment.
The home scene moves to Rebekah (v5-10). She overheard Isaac’s conversation with Esau, so she went to Jacob and hatched a plan. Just as Abraham and Sarah had planned to give God a helping hand to fulfil His promise, she, obviously thought that God’s words were in danger of being thwarted, so she told Jacob to get two choice goats from the flock and she would make some savoury food for Isaac, that he may eat it and bless Jacob.
Spurgeon said, “Good men have gone very wrong when they have thought of aiding in the fulfilment of promises and prophecies. See how Rebecca erred in trying to get the promised blessing for Jacob. We had better leave the Lord’s decrees in the Lord’s hands.”
Jacob wondered how he was going to deceive his father because he was smooth skinned, and Esau was a hairy man and if Isaac felt him, he would know the difference and was afraid he would be cursed rather than receive his father’s blessing. Rebekah told him to leave it to her (v11-17). Jacob went and got the goats, and Rebekah made the food which would please Isaac. Rebekah got some of Esau’s clothes and put them on Jacob. Probably they would smell of the outdoors where he did his hunting. She took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. She had made savoury food and gave it to Jacob with some bread.
Jacob was happy to go along with the deception, his only concern was failure. In fact, all four – Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau were involved in this. They displayed a lack of trust in God and belief in His word. God had said that the promise would be through Jacob. Isaac knew that but he seemed to be determined to bless Esau. In a way Rebekah and Jacob didn’t need to use deception, but they were doubting God and His ability to bring this about. Esau was happy to get the blessing, thinking that this was a way around despite what God had said.
Jacob goes through with the subterfuge lying to his father (v18-27). Isaac asked how he had got the food so quickly, he knew Esau was a skilful hunter, but this was really quick! Jacob even gave credit to The LORD for bringing the ‘game’ to him to compound the deception.
Isaac is still unsure, and he asked Jacob to go near to him so that he could feel him and smell him. Rebekah had thought of everything, clothes to smell like Esau and hairy skin to feel like him. Jacob must have been quaking as his father said that the voice was Jacob’s but everything else was Esau. Lies upon lies. So, Isaac blessed him (v27-29) Asking God to give him what he needed, finishing with – “Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Just as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, Esau came in with his savoury food, no doubt anticipating the blessing from his father (v30-32). He asked Esau who he was, a bit like ‘who goes there?’ When Isaac realised it really was Esau, we read that he trembled. (V33) The word ‘trembled’ indicates it was excessive. He was really troubled as he had tried to go against God’s plan but having blessed Jacob, he is resigned to say, “Indeed he shall be blessed.” He couldn’t undo what he had done even though it had been obtained by deception. It was the will of God in any case, so it was done. We cannot fool God; He will have His way. There was no need for the deception, but Isaac’s plans were thwarted.
Esau was, naturally, bitter and he pleaded for a blessing from his father (v34-38). In chapter 25 he had despised his birthright, now, perhaps later realising the benefits of it, he asked Isaac for a blessing. He was dishonest in saying that Jacob had ‘taken his birthright’ for he had actually given or sold it to him for a bowl of stew. Isaac acknowledged that Jacob had deceived him, but it was done. Esau asked, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!”
Esau might have shed tears, but they were regret of what he had missed and wounded pride, they were certainly not tears of repentance. The writer to the Hebrews makes that abundantly clear – “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”
Esau hated Jacob for what had taken place and resolved that when his father died, an event which he thought would be soon in view of Isaac’s words, but in fact, he lived another 40 years, and once the time of mourning was over, he would kill Jacob (v41,42). Someone told Rebekah and she told Jacob of Esau’s plans. Despite Esau having to wait for Isaac’s death it gave him comfort that soon he would be rid of Jacob. Rebekah told Jacob to get away (v43-46) to her brother Laban in Haran for a few days until Esau’s anger subsided. That ‘few days’ turned out to be over 20 years, but God was still in control.
Rebekah’s main concern was that Jacob might take a daughter of Heth to wife. Everyone was a loser in this scenario. One has said that they all suffered tragedy because they insisted on working against God’s plan and it is thought that Rebekah never saw Jacob again.
