Repeated phrases:
(1) One brother will be Lord over the other
(a) God has already told Rebekah that Jacob would lord over Esau before they were born 25:23. Perhaps Isaac did not know about that and blessed the first one who came to him with the blessing in 27:29.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be lord over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
Isaac thought he blessed Esau as the Lord over Jacob, but actually, Jacob got that blessing and it fitted the promise God had given to Rebekah before they were born.
Reflection: God's word would be fulfilled. Even without the knowledge of the promise Isaac had fulfilled the promise of God. God is sovereign and that is why He could make sure that His Words would and will come true. How much shall we trust God and His Words?
One day my husband volunteered to go to Costco and when he came home he bought yogurts that I did not want. I was not very happy and nagged him over the entire dinner time. In my heart, I tried to calm down and respected my husband for he is the head of our home. Then I thought, "After all it was just a waste of money. Maybe we could give the food to someone else."
Then the next day, an old lady from our church told me she wanted me to pick her up some yogurts from Costco. God has already planned for us.
(b) When Esau found out Jacob had taken away his blessings he asked Isaac if there was anything else he could blessed him.
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”
(NET) You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
(2) Esau hated Jacob and wanted to kill him v. 36, 41, 42
The word hated in v.41 means
(NET) “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
Jacob and Rebekah seemed to be the winners and got what they wanted, but they both suffered from the consequences of their cheating. Jacob went away from home and Rebekah could not see Jacob until she died.
Reflection: What was the promise of God for the younger to rule over the older became a family tragedy. No one wins in this situation. Their hater to each other continues and became the hater between the nation of Jacob (Israel) and the nation of Esau (Edom).
Be careful of how we deal with our desires. Even when our desires, in this case, Jacob and Rebekah desired the blessings from God, but our method to get the blessings also need to be correct.
For example, we know that God is just and He will judge the wicked. However, we should not take the revenge in our hands and take care of the wicked person. Have you done that or something similar?
Audrey
2026
1. Repeated words: bless; wailed v.34/weep v.38; kill v.41, 42
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” Then Esau wept loudly.
The losing of blessings were unacceptable to Esau and therefore Scripture recorded that twice that he lift up his voice and expressed his emotion. As a result, a revenge of killing was planned. That was out of the calculation of Rebekah. She might know her husband very well, but not her first born son.
Reflection: Esau knew that he had lost his birthright to Jacob, but he still wanted the blessings v. 36. To him, they were 2 separate things. However, in v.27-29, Isaac regarded the birthright and the blessings as one and therefore he blessed the supposed "Esau" to be lord over his brothers and inherit the Abrahamic covenant. If Esau wanted to be frustrated, he should have frustrated by himself who in the first place despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob.
Do I also conveniently forget my own responsibility when I face my frustration?
Questions
1. Isaac was given to Ab and Sarah by God. He was submissive to Ab when Ab tried to sacrificed him to the LORD. He then was substituted by a goat prepared by the LORD. Ab found a wife from his home town for him so that he would not be moved back there. He was the heir of the promise. He prayed for his wife and they got a twins. In the famine they left to Gerar and God appeared to him twice and assured to protect him and bless him because of the Ab covenant. He did not argued with the P because he knew that the One who blessed him in the LORD.
2. Jacob desired the blessings. Esau despised the birthright when he was caught in the moment, but he also desired the blessings. Rebekah loved Jacob and wanted him to listen to her. She would take the curse if her scheme of getting the blessings for Jacob failed.
3. High. Very. He could not revoked his decision and gave that to another person.
4. Want that to be cancelled.
5. 27:27-29
“Yes, my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the LORD has blessed. May
28 God give you
the dew of the sky
and the richness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be lord over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:39-40
39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“See here, your home will be by
the richness of the earth,
and by the dew of the sky above.
40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”
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