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27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let people's serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!" ~ Genesis 27:27-29
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 27 where the wife of Isaac, Rebekah, and their son Jacob has deceived Issac into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn son Esau. Even though the will of God was brought forward through today's narrative, Rebekah’s knowledge of the prophecy that "the older would serve the younger" does not excuse her sin which was judged in the body of the Lord Jesus when He hung on the cross for everyone who trusts in Him. It is such sin that necessitated the cross in the first place.
In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said, 'Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.'"
In our last study we learned that Rebekah put the choice clothes belonging to Esau on Jacob in order to deceive their father. The word "choice" used to describe those garments means "precious." These clothes were special because they were garments for ministry. Since Esau was the oldest son, he was responsible to perform the priestly functions in the home of Isaac. Especially because Isaac, being blind, could no longer perform them. Confirming this, we read, "he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him."
Then Isaac said, "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed." The smell of priestly incense would cling to these special garments. The sweet of incense reminds us of the goodness the Lord provides whether it is grass, or flowers, or fruit. A field which the Lord has blessed is vibrant and alive and this is the intent behind incense. The picture here is of the blessings of a priest being passed down from father to son. All of this was designed by the Lord to show that we find our true fulfillment in life in our true High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaac's blessing included that the true God would "give of the dew of heaven" which spoke of the rains that God gives to provide increase to crops. Without the rain the land would dry up and die, but with the rain comes abundance. "The fatness of the earth" speaks of the richness of the soil which produces the crops. It is the nutrients which give life to the seed and bring them up in a harvest that is overflowing. Just as there was physical blessings from the soil and the rain, so there would be spiritual blessings: primarily a personal relationship with the Lord Himself. Isaac’s blessing is upon the son of promise and God’s blessing is upon His Son who was promised.
In v.29 of today's passage we read, "Let people's serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!"
Isaac, who was the son of promise through Abraham, passed on the blessing of authority over the people groups they would encounter. This blessing is stated in anticipation of the fulfillment of the prophecy given to Rebekah before Jacob and Esau were born. Jacob and Esau would separate into different nations and the older would serve the younger. Isaac’s words now confirm that Jacob will fulfill the role as prophesied. But more than just his brother, all people who they would encounter would be subject to them. Of course, the spiritual fulfillment of this is found in the Lord Jesus Christ who will rule the nations as prophesied in the Bible.
In Philippians 2:9-11 we read, "9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
The final part of Isaac’s blessing was the same promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12. It passed through his son Isaac and now it is passed on to Jacob. And once again we see its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus. In Galatians 3:8-9 we read,
"8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."
Isaac’s intentions were to bless Esau, just as it was God’s design for man to rule the earth. But Esau was out in the field looking for food when the blessing came. Adam still had the taste of the forbidden fruit in his mouth when his curse came. But God’s plan, in the end, will right every wrong. This is the ultimate point of the blessing. The Bible isn’t just a group of disconnected stories without regard to an overall point and purpose. Instead, it is a demonstration of the wisdom of God as He works out His immensely beautiful plan of reconciling the world to Himself. Throughout time He has used real people to picture an overall story of fallen man in reference to Himself. Esau represents Adam and Jacob the Lord Jesus. We are all sons of Adam by birth, but the Lord Jesus took on a human body and He came in the likeness of Adam to restore that which was fallen.
In this story, as throughout the Bible, God allowed the sin of man to come into existence. He had to, otherwise there would be no love and trust. God used "allowed human sin" to be useful at fulfilling His promises. Rebekah and Jacob’s deceptive plan was the means by which God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the clearest culmination of this truth found in the Bible. When the Lord Jesus died, God didn’t just overcome evil. With the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, God made evil serve the overcoming of evil.
