ISAAC AND JACOB: SUPPLANTER STEALS BLESSING (Jacob Dons a Goat Coat)

ISAAC AND JACOB:

SUPPLANTER STEALS BLESSING

(Jacob Dons a Goat Coat)

Genesis 27:1-4 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

Susan: I think if I had been Isaac, I would not have waited until I was blind to give the blessing so I could be sure I was giving it to the right son.

Susie: I imagine he had no idea one of his sons would stoop to deceiving him to rob the other of the blessing. Isaac instructed Esau to go hunting and cook up a mess of venison seasoned just the way he liked it. Then, he would pronounce his blessing on him.

Susan: It sounds as if Isaac was asking Esau to prepare his last meal.

Susie: Perhaps he was feeling that near death. Sometimes people seem to know when the time is near.

Genesis 27:5-8 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

Susan: It sounds like they had his and her sons. The last time I checked both parties have to be involved in making a baby. There were no test-tube babies in those days.

Susie: Yes, they were both parents to the twins; but remember, each one had a favorite. Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. And in this case, was eavesdropping on his behalf.

Susan: Rebekah urged Jacob to follow her instructions to the letter because she had hatched a plan.

Genesis 27:9-10 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

Susan: She told Jacob to dress out two baby goats and bring them to her so that she could season them with eau de venison.

Susie: Her plan was to spice up the meat to taste the way Esau prepared deer meat and have Jacob present it to the father pretending to be Esau so that Isaac would bless the wrong son.

Genesis 27:11-12 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

Susan: Jacob asked his mom how he was going to fool his father since his body was not hairy like his brother’s, but as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Susie: He was concerned that his father might think he was a deceiver—yoo-hoo, Jacob, that is exactly what you are! He was afraid Isaac would curse him rather than bless him.

Genesis 27:13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

Susan: Rebekah said she would take any backlash from this scheme and urged Jacob to just do as he was told without further questions.

Genesis 27:14-17 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Susan: Rebekah prepared the food. Then she dressed Jacob in a goat coat to make him feel hairy as Esau would have been.

Susie: She also had Jacob wear Esau’s good clothing in order for him to smell like his brother.

Genesis 27:18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

Susie: When Jacob greeted his father, Isaac asked who he was.

Genesis 27: 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

Susan: Jacob out and out lied, knowing his father was virtually blind. In this moment, Jacob had no honor and was being his mother’s puppet.

Susie: Before Jacob was born, the Lord had told Rebekah the older would serve the younger, but for some reason she thought God needed her help in making the prophecy come to pass. Yes, the deception led to Jacob being blessed, but I believe God could have orchestrated that without the lies and deception.

Susan: Jacob was completely complicit in deceiving his father.

Genesis 27:20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

Susan: Jacob brought God into the web of deceit, sin of completely deeper level.

Genesis 27:21And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

Susie: Isaac became a little suspicious. Hunting, carrying the deer back to camp, dressing it out, and cooking usually takes some time. Therefore, he demanded to feel his son just as Jacob had feared.

Susan: Isaac felt there was something rotten in Canaan, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Genesis 27:22-24 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

Susie: Because of Rebekah’s great costume, Jacob passed the feel test. Then Isaac point blank asked him if he really was Esau.

Susan: Even though he didn’t pass the voice test, Isaac asked if he was truly Esau. I think he did not want to think that one of his sons would deceive him. Jacob lied and said he was Esau.

Genesis 27:25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

Susan: Isaac set aside any suspicions he had. If the hair was standing up on the back of his neck, he smoothed it back down. He ignored his gut feeling and accepted the meal.

Genesis 27:26-27 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

Susan: Jacob kissed his father, the most intimate expression of love. This was another opportunity for Jacob to come clean, fall on his face, confess that he was masquerading as Esau, and beg forgiveness and mercy. But he did not.   Reminds me of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss.

Susie: Isaac was bringing him in close enough to do the sniff test. Because of Rebekah’s cunning in having Jacob dress in Esau’s clothing, he passed. Isaac smelled the freshness of the outdoors and coupled with the hairy arms and neck, believed the man before him was his son Esau.

Susan: I wonder if Rebekah had ever told Isaac about her encounter with the Lord and God’s prophesy that the older twin would serve the younger. If she had, it would seem that Isaac would have planned to give Jacob the blessing in obedience to the Lord. The Word does not tell us if Isaac was privy to Rebekah’s message from God.

Genesis 27:28-29 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Susie: Isaac thought he was blessing Esau who would be the traditional one to carry on the covenantal line, but it was really Jacob. There were three parts to the blessing. The first was prosperity, that the land would produce crops and he would enjoy the fatness of the land. The second part was that nations would bow down to him, be under his control.

Susan: As God prophesied to Rebekah, even Esau would be subservient to his younger brother Jacob.

The Reformation Study Bible

The blessing’s similarity to the prenatal oracle (25:23) points to the Lord’s sovereign rule of history.

Susan: God’s sovereignty will always supersede tradition and culture.

Susie: The final blessing called down blessings on those who were good to Jacob and curses on those who opposed him. According to God’s plan, the covenant made with Abraham would continue through Jacob. The promised “Seed” who would crush Satan’s head, the Messiah, would be a descendant of Jacob. Jesus would descend from the tribe of Judah who was one of Jacob’s sons. CHRISTMAS!

QUESTIONS

1.         Which of Isaac’s senses had failed in his old age?

2.         Which son did Isaac plant to bless? Why?

3.         What task did he assign his son before giving him his blessing?

4.         Who was eavesdropping on the conversation between Isaac and his eldest son?

5.         What instructions did Rebekah give to Jacob?

6.         What fear did Jacob express to his mother?

7.         How did Rebekah disguise Jacob to pass as Esau?

8.         How many times did Jacob lie to his father?

9.         What explanation did Jacob give for how he hunted the deer and prepared it so quickly?

         10.  In what ways was Isaac’s blessing similar to                  the promise God had given Rebekah before 
                twins were born?