Isaac and Rebekah’s twin sons, Jacob and Esau, were very different from the very beginning of their lives. Esau (the eldest) was known as an outdoors-man and was favored by his father (25:27-28); however, Jacob (the youngest) loved the comforts of home and was favored by his mother (25:27-28). Their differences were magnified in an incident when Jacob took advantage of Esau during a time of weakness and caused him to sell his birthright (25:29-34). This meant that Esau, the eldest and rightful heir to the birthright, forfeited to Jacob his double portion of the inheritance and his position as chief of the family. As the time of Isaac’s death came near, he told Esau to go hunting and then prepare him a meal so that he could pronounce a blessing upon him before he died (27:1-4). Although Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob (25:33) and disappointed his parents by marrying women from pagan nations (26:34-35), Isaac insisted on granting Esau the birthright. Rebekah overheard what Isaac had spoken to Esau and quickly commanded Jacob to bring two goats from the flock so that she could prepare a meal for Isaac and he would bless Jacob instead (27:5-10). Jacob hesitated at hearing his mother’s plan (27:11), but she further devised the plan to make Jacob appear hairy like Esau and deceive his nearly blind father into blessing him rather than Esau (27:12-13).
Jacob obeyed the voice of his mother by bringing her two goats from the flock, which she prepared as a meal for Isaac (27:14). She also dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes and attached the skin of the goats to Jacob’s hands and neck (27:15-16). Jacob then took the meal into his father and deceptively acted as if he were Esau in order to receive the blessing (27:17-19). Isaac hesitated in giving his blessing because he wondered how the meal had been prepared so quickly (27:20). He further inquired about his identity so Isaac asked him to come closer so he could see if the one standing before him was really Esau (27:21). ”So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. ‘The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,’ Isaac said. But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob” (27:22-23, NLT). Although Isaac was still not fully convinced that it was Esau standing before him (27:24), he relied on his sense of touch (27:16, 23) and smell (27:27) to give away his blessing. Isaac finally declared his blessing over Jacob, whom he thought was Esau, saying, “May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed” (27:29).
Dear God, protect our families from favoritism and deceit so that we may function in honesty and truth.
