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30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me." 32 And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed." 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me—me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing." 36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?" 38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ~ Genesis 27:30-38
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 27. Before Jacob and Esau were born, God knew the outcome of their narrative. As with all things in the Bible, faith in the God of the Bible is the key. God in His wisdom gave twins to Rebekah and determined that one would serve the other. That prophecy has come to pass just like everything in the Bible.
In our last study, we saw that the Lord came as a Man and prevailed over Adam’s transgression and this was pictured in the blessing of Jacob instead of Esau, even though what Jacob did was deceptive. God recorded this narrative in order to point us in the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ who came as the God-Man.
In v.30-33 of today's passage we read, "30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, 'Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.' 32 And his father Isaac said to him, 'Who are you?' So he said, 'I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.' 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, 'Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.'"
No sooner had Jacob left Isaac’s tent that his brother Esau entered. Esau was hunting and God provided an animal at the exact spot and time where he would be back, have it prepared, and brought in at this exact moment. There is no chance in this account, but the deliberate timing and foreknowledge of God. Jacob, who is Israel in unbelief, was to receive the blessing and through him and his people would come their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This would have never work with Esau because Esau never embraced the culture of God.
Lost in this story is the fact that years before this day, Esau had sold his birthright to his brother Jacob. Picturing fallen man, Esau chose to be defined by a lesser culture than that of God. Once he realized that he had lost the firstborn blessing to Jacob, Isaac literally "trembled with a great trembling greatly." He was so confused and so overwrought that he literally shook violently. This is the same word used to describe the trembling of the people at the foot of Mount Sinai and even the quaking of the mountain itself.
With sudden clarity, Isaac saw completely what had just happened. The people at the foot of Sinai received no greater insight into the work of God than Isaac did that day. The food was received, the blessing was given, and indeed Jacob was blessed. God opened Isaac’s dead eyes to the fulfillment of His plan which was prophesied while the two boys were still in Rebekah’s womb. What his physical eyes missed because of blindness, his spiritual eyes had now comprehended.
It was at that point that Isaac embraced the truth and God looked at his words and credited them to him in His own word for all time as righteousness as we read in Hebrews. As Adam made his choice and gave up paradise, Esau had long ago done the same. But, the good news is that the Lord Jesus came to this earth and earned our paradise back. Now Adam’s children can receive what the Lord Jesus has done or they can remain in Adam.
In v.34-37 of today's passage we read, "34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, 'Bless me—me also, O my father!' 35 But he said, 'Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.' 36 And Esau said, 'Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!' And he said, 'Have you not reserved a blessing for me?' 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, 'Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?'"
Esau had lost his blessing but that did not mean that his life was done. The problem that Esau had was his disregard for God. In his broken state Esau did not turn to the Lord but he turn to blaming. Blaming is the way of the enemy. Esau did exactly what his father Isaac had ordered but he did it without faith in what the promise signified. God is not pleased with the person who follows every detail of the Bible scrupulously, but doesn’t believe what the Bible says. No, what pleases the Lord is the one who reads his Bible in order to perpetuate his relationship with the Lord Jesus. It is faith in the God of the Bible that offers an obedient heart that God desires rather than religious duty.
The fact that Jacob received the birthright and he was blessed did not mean that God approved of his deception. The unfolding narrative will show that Rebekah and Jacob didn’t benefit from their deception in the short term. In fact, Jacob had to run for his life and his mother never saw her favorite son again. And, once Jacob stopped running, Rebekah's brother Laban later gave Jacob a taste of his own medicine. And Jacob’s sons will deceive him by claiming that his favorite son Joseph had been killed.
In v.38 of today's passage we read, "And Esau said to his father, 'Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!' And Esau lifted up his voice and wept."
In Hebrews 12:14-17 we read, "14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears."
Esau's problem was his unwillingness to repent. Repentance is not the ability to stop doing something. We can’t measure repentance based on our behavior. In fact, since repentance means "to stop sinning," no one has ever repented. We don’t measure repentance based on performance, we repent based on God’s truth. We are all needy beggars who rely on Christ alone. Hence, the purpose of repentance is not us; it’s God.
When we have a performance-based mindset we will typically see repentance as turning from sin. It will be something that we do as a result of something that we have done. This approach is us fixing that which we broke, it is atoning for our sin. It was seen in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to try to hide their shame. In contrast, biblical repentance is always a response to what God has done. It is when our hearts recognize His grace and mercy and we therefore desire to be defined by Him.
In the end the will of God will always come to pass. In addition, we will be defined by the Savior or we will be defined by the self. Esau chose the ungodly way and in the end, it cost him. Esau made his choices and God knew what they would be. Likewise, God gives us freewill to make our own choices. Even though Jacob was not prefect at being convinced that the God of the Bible was the One who should define him, he yet was defined by the God of the Bible. The totality of his life bore that out. This was not the case with Esau for he continued down the road of not being defined by God. He rather chose the way of the self.
