THE BLESSING OF ESAU AND JACOB (GENESIS 26:34 TO GENESIS 27:45). This passage was recorded in writing because it records the blessings given to Jacob and Esau which were in the nature of a binding covenant that could not be changed. They thus testified to the will of Isaac as declared in those bles... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BLESSING OF ESAU AND JACOB (GENESIS 26:34 TO GENESIS 27:45). This passage was recorded in writing because it records the blessings given to Jacob and Esau which were in the nature of a binding covenant that could not be changed. They thus testified to the will of Isaac as declared in those bles... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went into the open country to hunt for venison and to bring it.' There was no reason why Rebekah should not have been in the tent when Isaac spoke to Esau. The giving of a blessing was not something that had to be done in secret. On the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Rebekah said to Jacob her son, “Look, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me venison and make me savoury meat that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.' Now therefore, my son, obey my voice just as I command you. Go now to the flock and fetch me fro... [ Continue Reading ]
THE COURTYARD OF THE TABERNACLE (EXODUS 27:9). Before and around the sanctuary was a large courtyard into which the people themselves could come. They could not enter the sanctuary, only the chosen priests would be able to do that, but they (usually the heads of households except where individual o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look. Esau is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me and I will seem to him as a deceiver. And I will bring a curse on me and not a blessing.” And his mother said to him, “On me be your curse my son, only obey my voice and go and fet... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he went and fetched what was required and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savoury meat such as his father loved. And Rebekah took the fine clothes of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you my son?” Jacob comes, no doubt trembling, to his father, honing the skills of deception that he will use so effectively later on. His father's reply reflects doubt. This does not sound like Esau. From this point... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Bring it near to me and I will eat of my son's venison that my soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank.' Now he calls on him to do the son's part, bonding the unity between them. We can only imagine Jacob's apprehension as... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it happened, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also made savoury meat, and brought it to his father.' He left only just in time. Esau, confident of the be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn Esau.” “WHO ARE YOU?” Isaac's mind is frozen with shock. He cannot believe what he is hearing. His previous mild suspicions now come back with full force. Esau, completely unsuspicious makes the reply that... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Isaac trembled very violently, and said, “Then who is he who has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him. Yes and he shall be blessed.” ' Isaac is distraught. He realises that he has been deceived. But he is aware, as all are, that wha... [ Continue Reading ]
‘When Esau heard the words of his father he cried with an extremely loud and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, oh my father.” Esau too is distraught. All he had hoped for has come to naught. Surely his father can do something to remedy the situation. Can he not have the b... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Your brother came with guile and has taken away your blessing.” The answer is basically, ‘no'. What he has given he has given. He cannot take it back or change it in spite of the way in which it had been obtained.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Is he not rightly called Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and see, now he has taken away my blessing.” Esau makes a bitter play on words. The root idea behind the word ‘Jacob' is protection. Jacob-el (the el is assumed) means ‘may God prote... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold I have made him your lord, and I have given to him all his brothers for servants, and I have sustained him with corn and wine. And what then shall I do for you, my son?” Isaac too finds himself helpless. Had he not intended such favour to his elder son... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing my father. Bless me, even me also, oh my father.” And Esau raised his voice and wept. In his disappointment and anguish Esau seeks for some crumb of comfort. Is there nothing that his father can give him? We must recognise that it is some off... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, from the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and from the dew of heaven from above. And by your sword you will live, and you will serve your brother. And it will happen, when you will break loose, that you will shake his yoke from off... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then will I slay my brother Jacob.” ' As we have seen earlier, Isaac thought he was near death, and it is clear Esau thought likewise. ‘The d... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Look, your brother Esau consoles himself about you with the thought of killing you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise. Flee to my brother Laban, to Haran. And wait... [ Continue Reading ]
JACOB (GENESIS 27:46 TO GENESIS 37:2 A) Jacob Flees to Haran to Find a Wife of His Own Kin And Remains There Over Twenty Years Establishing His Own Sub-Tribe Before Returning Home (Genesis 27:46 to Genesis 37:2 a). JACOB'S DEPARTURE (GENESIS 27:46 TO GENESIS 28:9) Genesis 27:46 ‘And Rebekah said... [ Continue Reading ]