Genesis 27:30

The Bible says in Genesis 27:30-40, “And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.”

This incident in Jacob’s and Esau’s lives teaches us about the sovereignty of God. God is in control. God decides what happens to people and to nations. When one person is lifted up and another person is cast down, it only happens with the permission and the supervision of Almighty God. The reason that Isaac did not receive the birthright of the firstborn is because God decided that it would work out that way. God told Rebekah that things would happen that way even before Esau and Jacob were born. That is why it says in Romans 13:1-2, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Learn to have faith in the sovereignty of God, because without it you will not be able to have victory over all the things that happen to you in your life.

Some things happen because God is sovereign. Of course, that does not mean that all things happen because He is sovereign. In His sovereignty He has given free will to man. Man makes choices and then consequences follow those choices. That is why God can justly hold man responsible for the choices that man makes. The most important decision that any person makes is that of choosing or not choosing Jesus Christ as their Savior.

It is important to notice that even though Esau lost his birthright, he did not go without his own blessing. Isaac blessed Esau and said to him in Genesis 27:39-40, “Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” Even though Jacob received the inheritance that was normally reserve for the firstborn, Esau’s blessing included being able to get out from under the domination of Jacob. There is a certain symbolism to how God works in the lives of Christians. We do not all have the same gifts and calling. Someone may have a greater gift than we do, but that does not mean that God has nothing for us to do. We may only have just one cup of water to give, but we can still give it in the name of Christ. Whatever God calls us to do is important to God, and that is all that matters. As John Milton so wisely wrote in his poem entitled “On His Blindness” about those who are blind: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

The Bible says in Genesis 27:41-46, “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith 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. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?” There is something that needs to be said about believers and the children that they bring into the world. In reading the Bible we have seen that the union of Isaac and Rebekah is an example of one of the great marriages found in the Bible. For example, they were both spiritual people who had a meaningful relationship with the Lord. Isaac and Rebekah were brought together as a result of God’s leading in answer to prayer. Their lives were blessed by the Lord, and later they had children: two sons. But the children were not at all like the parents. Esau sold his birthright and forever became an example of someone who rejected spiritual gain for the sake of obtaining short-term material gain. Esau hated his brother and wanted to kill him. And also Esau married ungodly women who were a grief to his parents, Rebekah and Isaac. Jacob’s actions were not much better than Esau’s. Jacob was a deceiver and in some ways he was just as materialistic as his brother. Therefore, in spite of Isaac and Rebekah’s close relationship with God and with one another, and in spite of whatever Christian advice they gave their children; Jacob and Esau brought disappointments and sufferings into their parents’ lives. Children give Christian parents much joy, when they choose to go God’s way, but they also cause much sorrow and suffering to those parents when they choose not to go God’s way.

Of course, throughout the Bible we see believing parents having problems with their children. The first parents, Adam and Eve, suffered greatly through their children. The first son, Cain, became a murderer. And his victim was the second son, Abel. We know how close that Noah was to the Lord. He had three sons. And yet one of the sons, Ham, had immoral tendencies, and a curse had to be pronounced on Canaan, the son of Ham. Lot is called a righteous man in the Bible, but no one would call his daughters righteous. It says about Lot’s daughters in Genesis 19:33-36, “And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.”

We shall see when we study further in the book of Genesis that Jacob also suffered great things from his children. Jacob had twelve sons. One of his sons, Joseph, was sold into slavery by the other eleven. Then the eleven lied to their father, leading him to believe that Joseph had been killed. Jacob lived many years grieving for his lost son, and then Jacob said near the end of his life in Genesis 47:9, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.”

In reading the Bible you will find many other Christian parents like Isaac and Rebekah who suffered greatly because of what happened to their children, or because of what their children did. Isaac and Rebekah’s marriage was a great example of what a marriage between two believers can be and how well such a marriage can turn out. But when we look at the children of Isaac and Rebekah, we see how badly it can turn out in the lives of some children even though the parents are believers and are good parents. The first several verses of the book of Proverbs are written by a father to his son. The father pleads with the son to listen to his wise teachings, but if the son chooses not to listen, then the son will suffer the consequences. Just because the father has chosen the path of faith and wisdom does not mean that the son will do so. For example, it says in Proverbs 1:8, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” Concerning the children who make the wrong choices, it says in Proverbs 2:22, “But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” With children it can go either way because each person makes their own spiritual choices. Children often make the wrong choices as they grow older no matter who the parents are because only a small minority of people turn to the Lord. When children do make the wrong choice, it causes great sorrow to the parents. It says in Proverbs 10:1, “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” As Jesus said, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Notice that Rebekah said in Genesis 27:46, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?” Rebekah and Isaac knew the importance of marrying the right person. Rebekah and Isaac married the right person because Abraham understood the importance of marriage, and therefore Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac from among believers. The servant also prayed to the Lord about finding the right bride for Isaac, and in reality God brought Rebekah to Isaac. As parents, Rebekah and Isaac had experienced the heartache and difficulties of seeing their oldest son, Esau, married to women of the world. They did not want to see the same disaster happen to Jacob, so they decided to do the same thing for him that was done for them: send Jacob back to the land of their roots so that he could find a wife from among believers.

The Bible says in Genesis 28:1-9, “And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.”

These marriages and the resulting events teach us once again the absolute importance of a believer marrying another believer in the will of God. Every teaching of the Bible is important, and this one is no less so. It is also very important that much prayer be made in such a decision. It says in Second Corinthians 6:14-17, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

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