Genesis 27-28

Compiled notes from my BSF group


JACOB DECEIVES ISAAC TO GAIN HIS BLESSINGS (Genesis 27:1-29)

Isaac's family is full of deception

Examples
- They lied: Isaac lied about Rebekah being his wife (Genesis 26:7).
- They had secrets from each other: Rebekah preferred Jacob and secretly plotted against Isaac’s plan to leave his legacy through Esau (Genesis 27:5-10).

Throughout this lesson, BSF asks quite a few questions about how Isaac or Esau "defy" God's plan. Personally, I do not think the Bible provides enough information for us to make such assessments. True, prior to the birth of Jacob and Esau, God announced that "the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). True, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau all had a hand in manipulation, playing each other in order to gain what they selfishly want. True, through these manipulations, Jacob ended up with Isaac's blessings and God's promises through Abraham and Isaac. And true, we can even speculate what might have happened if none of them manipulated each other, if they all just allowed God to work through them (as opposed to taking things into their own hands). However, I find such speculations meaningless, in the sense that we just do not know. Because they chose to manipulate, the facts we have now are the results of those actions. We do not have facts about "what could have been" because it never happened! We can guess what could have been, but at the end of the day, we have no facts to support those guesses. Hence, I think such speculations are pointless mind exercises.

For example, one BSF question asked, "How did Rebekah show she was on God’s side while Isaac really worked against God?"

This question makes some bold assumptions:
1) Isaac acted against God
2) Rebekah behaved Godly

Let's go back to the Scripture. What did the Bible really say?

For one, let us look at God's prophecy in its entirety:

The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23).

That is it. It does not go on to say how Isaac was to do this and this and this to make sure Jacob inherits the blessing, for example. 

It is not the heart of God to play favoritism as Isaac and Rebekah did, but it also isn't out of the norm of Isaac's day to pass inheritance through the eldest son.

My point here is that it is presumptuous of us to assume the black and white view of Isaac acted against God.

Second, I am intrigued that BSF would assume that Rebekah showed "she was on God's side." If anything, passages throughout these couple of chapters show that just as Isaac favored Esau, Rebekah favored Jacob. That is, both Isaac and Rebekah were guilty of the same sin; Isaac fought to have Esau on top, whereas Rebekah fought to have Jacob on top. Is this really Rebekah acting "on God's side"? Or rather, is this Rebekah fulfilling her own selfish wants, and it just so happens that what she wanted was in line with God's prophecy?

God is after our hearts. He isn't going to just look at the results, and just because the results are in line with His plan, He would say to us, "Good and faithful servant." He looks at our heart and judges us based on our heart. If we do not have the heart of God within us, then nothing we do matters, even if the results look great. 

Isaac blesses Jacob (Genesis 27:27-29)
Isaac's blessing included prosperity in the land, greatness among nations, and greatness among his people. And as God promised Abraham and Isaac, Isaac also promised Jacob: May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.



ISAAC BLESSES ESAU (Genesis 27:30-40)

Because Isaac had already passed down God's blessing through Jacob, Isaac could only give Esau the following blessing:

"Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck" (Genesis 27:40).

This prophecy was fulfilled in Numbers 20:18-21, 2 Samuel 8:14; 2 Kings 8:20–22, 14:7; 2 Chronicles 28:17; Obadiah 10-15. Herod the Great was also a descendant of Esau in the time of Jesus — Matthew 2.

Edom is not rich. It is not blessed. Their nations are constantly in war. One day, they will serve Israel, but today, they are fighting hard to throw Israel off its back.



JACOB FLEES FROM ESAU (Genesis 27:41-28:1-9)

Take the plank out of our eyes (Genesis 27:41-46)
Jacob first stole Esau's birthright, and now, he's even taken the blessing that Isaac had wanted to give to Esau. Understandably, Esau is so angered, he plotted Jacob's death.

We may readily empathize with Esau, with examples and examples lined up to show how others have wronged us, how right it is for us to hold a grudge or to judge. However, we should also note how Esau not once reflected or admitted sin. For example, why did he choose to swap his birthright for a bowl of soup? Further, while Jacob heeded Isaac's dying wishes, Esau chose to disobey him just to spite him! Simply put, every one of us makes mistakes, commit sins. We can point at others, but we aren't going to stand in front of God one day to judge others. We're going to stand in front of God one day to be judged for our own choices. Each one of us has to answer to God for our own behavior. So, instead of being so ready with our fingers to point at others, it might be more worth our time to focus on ourselves.

Luke 6:42
"How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."


JACOB DREAMS OF GOD'S PROMISE (Genesis 28:10-22)

In the dream, Jacob saw a stairway to Heaven, with the angels coming and going, with God promising to look over him.

Christ uses this dream to teach Nathanael that He is the only way to God (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-20)
In Jacob’s dream, the angels came and went through a stairway to Heaven. In John 1:51, Christ said, "… the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man," equating Himself to that stairway, the ONLY way to God.

God's Promise to Jacob

Land
"I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying" (Genesis 28:13).

Descendants
"Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south" (Genesis 28:14).

Blessing
"All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring" (Genesis 28:14).

God’s presence with Jacob
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15).

Jacob responded humbly to God's promise (Genesis 28:16-22)
1. He humbled himself and showed reverence to God’s presence: "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17).

2. He worshiped God: "Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz" (Genesis 28:18-19).

3. He committed himself to God: "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth" (Genesis 28:20-22).