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Bible History of the Old Testament |
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No. 18 Isaac's Blessing Obtained by Jacob Deceitfully - Esau's Sorrow - Evil consequences of their error to all the members of the family - Jacob is sent to Laban - Isaac renews and fully gives him the Blessing of Abraham
We should definitely always be on guard about "tempting God" in any way. If there was any question that had been settled, it was that of the calling of Jacob and the rejection of Esau. God had expressly told them this even before the children were born. Also Esau had afterwards proved himself unfit to be the heir of the promise. First he took very lightly the fact that he was the first-born, and next by his willful alliance with the Canaanites. Even though Esau had done all these things that were contrary to the will of God, and Isaac also knew about the fact that God had told them that Esau would end up being the chosen one, he still was reluctant to follow the direction of God. In truth, he was more naturally affectionate toward Esau which made him hesitate to give the birthright to Jacob. He traded his natural love for Esau over what God had told him and tried to make things come true in the flesh even though they were against God's plan. A German writer observes about this matter: "This is one of the most remarkable complications of life, showing in the clearest manner that a higher hand guides the threads of history, so that neither sin nor error can ultimately entangle them. Each one weaves the threads which are committed to him according to his own views and desires; but at last, when the texture is complete, we behold in it the pattern which the Master had long devised, and towards which each labourer had only contributed one or another feature." At this time Isaac was 137 years old - the same age at which his half-brother Ishmael had died earlier 14 years before. Though he was destined to live 43 more years, he had many infirmities, plus his eyesight was failing him. These things must have gotten him thinking that his death would be very soon. It was under these circumstances that he was determined to formally bestow the privileges naturally belonging to his first-born son Esau. Just as people today are always looking for a "sign" from God, so maybe did Jacob when he asked Esau to go out and kill and prepare him some venison. Possibly he regarded it as some sort of sign that if God would provide the game for him to kill, then maybe he had changed his mind about the birthright. The problem was that Rebekah had overheard the conversation between Isaac and Esau. Even though God had told her that Jacob would obtain the blessing, it seems that she felt that she must take matters in her own hands. Probably for a long time she had been apprehensive that Isaac would try to do such a thing, and she was on guard for it. She felt that if she did not act quickly, the Blessing would be lost to Jacob forever. It didn't seem to matter to her at the time about the means she employed to get the Blessing for Jacob, only that he got it instead of Esau. It seems that trusting God to work out the situation didn't enter her mind, even though he had distinctly told her that Jacob was the heir to the promises. Rebekah must have argued in her mind that she was keeping Isaac from making a huge mistake that could never be corrected and that it was she who was fulfilling the Will of God for her son. If she had had the faith of Abraham she would not have acted, felt, or feared as she did. She would have known that even if Isaac did this terrible thing, God could somehow intervene and make things right. Such a time will probably come to most of us when it almost seems as if Holy Wisdom prompts us to do something in our own strength that we should leave in God's Hands. Once we enter on such a course, it will probably not be long until we cast our scruples to the winds and we actually start to believe and justify that what we did was in the total Will of God. For a situation such as this FAITH is the only true remedy: faith, which leaves God to carry out His own purposes, content to trust Him absolutely, and to follow Him whithersoever HE leadeth. And God's way is never through the thicket of human cunning and devices. "He that believeth shall not make haste; nor need he, for God will do it all for him". Rebekah had obviously been thinking about this for some time and had somewhat put together a plan of action if the need arose. Quickly she proposed to Jacob to take advantage of his father's dim sight, and to personate Esau. He was to put on his brother's dress which bore the smell of the aromatic herbs and bushes of the field. Then he would cover his skin with a kind of fur so it would feel like Esau's skin. While Jacob was doing this, Rebekah would prepare a dish which his father would not be able to distinguish from the venison which Esau was preparing to make for him. It is remarkable that although Jacob at first objected, his scruples were caused more by fear of rejection from his mother than from a sense of the wrong proposed. But Rebekah, having justified her actions and believing them herself, assured him that they would succeed. I'm sure that Jacob found his part to be harder than he had expected. He had to lie again and again and be evermore deceitful to allay the suspicions of Jacob. But at last he won him over and got the Blessing and with it the birthright. It also deserves special notice that this Blessing was vastly different from the one that Abraham had given to Isaac - "In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed". The Blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob basically assigned to him both the land of Canaan and lordship over his brethren. The only part of it that has a faint allusion to the great promise given to Abraham was :"Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee". It is clear that Isaac believed that he had blessed Esau and that he did not dare confer upon him the spiritual privileges that were attached to the birthright. So, after all, Jacob and Rebekah did not attain that which they had sought. Jacob had scarcely left the presence of his father when Esau entered with the venison he had prepared. In fairness, though, we must blame Esau just as much as the others. He had already sold his birthright to Jacob years ago, and he tried to hide this fact from his brother until after the fact. He was just as dishonest, cunning, and untruthful as Jacob had been. It seems that maybe for the first time, he actually got a glimpse of what he had really lost, and Isaac also saw that God had kept him from committing a grave error. After Esau really saw what he had lost, he begged Isaac to give him a blessing also. Even though he didn't want to do it, Isaac finally pronounced what was in reality a prophecy of the future of Edom and sketches the future history of the Edomites. "Behold, thy dwelling shall be without fatness of the earth. And without the dew of heaven from above. But by they sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; Yet it shall come to pass that, as thou shakest it, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." The last sentence refers to the varying success of the future struggles between Israel and Edom, and introduces into the blessing of Jacob an element of judgment. Hebrews 11:20 sums it up by saying "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." Esau was full of hatred and envy, and resolved to himself that he would kill his brother after his father had died. He must have believed that Isaac's death was near also. Somehow Rebekah got word of what his plans were. She knew that her son had a violent quick temper, but that also he did not harbor anger long. She resolved to send Jacob away to her brother Laban for a few days until Esau's anger had cooled down. She had it all worked out that after a short while she would send for him to come back. She did not tell Isaac about Esau's plan for murder, but conjured up another reason for Jacob to leave. She told him that she wanted to send him away to her relatives so that he could find a wife. Isaac knew that her reasoning was just because Esau had married heathen wives. By this time also, he realized that he had almost made a huge mistake and decided that he must give Jacob the rest of the Blessing that he had withheld before when he thought he was blessing Esau. Thus, when Esau learned that his father didn't like his heathen wives, he was just that much more furious and married another one. His darkness seems to have grown deeper and deeper. The unfitness and spiritual incompleteness of Esau showed in every area, even when he tried to act kindly and dutifully. We end this era in the life of Isaac by the German writer's words: "After this event Isaac lived other 43 years. But he no more appears in history. Its thread is now taken up by Jacob, on whom the promise has devolved. Scripture only records that Isaac was gathered to his fathers when 180 years old, and full of days, and that he was buried in the cave of Machpelah by Esau and Jacob. He had the joy of seeing that his sons had been reconciled as he lay on his death bed. When Jacob left, his father dwelt at Beersheba. The desire to be nearer to his father's burying-place may have been the ground of his later settlement in Mamre, where he died. Rebekah, who at parting had so confidently promised to let Jacob know whenever Esau's anger was appeased, may have died even before her favorite son returned to Canaan. At any rate the promised message was never delivered, nor is her name mentioned on Jacob's return." For more information from this book, go to the archives page at my site www.cathydeaton.com There are also other topics of interest there. This text is taken from the book Bible History Old Testament written by Alfred Edersheim. This book has been used by permission.
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