†. Gen 27:30-33a . . No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his
father Isaac-- after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his
brother Esau came back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and
brought it to his father. And he said to his father: Let my father sit
up and eat of his son's game, so that you may give me your
innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who are you? And
he said: I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with
very violent trembling.
According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed
the wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the
son for whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he
saw Hell open beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased
with his intentions; and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he
would suffer dire consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were
true.
It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came
home to him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God
overruled Isaac, and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he was
supposed to do in the first place.
Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca,
and by his faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much
up until now. I think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people
that they were, deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from
doing what he very well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the
whole scheme, and had blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to
the contrary. Jacob would indeed be blessed, just as he should have been all
along.
†. Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game
and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I
blessed him; now he must remain blessed!
This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to
change it. He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these
thoughts came over him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts
must have overwhelmed him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future,
heartbreak over Rebecca's treachery, resentment at having his own plans
thwarted, and shame for having played the fool in such an important
spiritual matter. All those feelings surely contributed to his trembling, not to
mention the very sight of Hell opening at his feet.
Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had
incurred great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed
the trust of his father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home;
all because of a carnal appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's
physical exploits. No wonder the poor man was shaking so badly.
†. Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into
wild and bitter sobbing,
The word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak') and
means: to shriek.
I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very
same hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White
Throne judgment of Rev 20:10-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally
sinks in that they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.
At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then
quite bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad
shivering, and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the
awful truth became only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his
disappointment with a dreadful scream.
†. Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!
In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was
actually hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the
fraudulent blessing. Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the
older son like he wanted to. But no. It was far more serious than either Esau
or his dad imagined; which by now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.
†. Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and
took away your blessing.
That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent
alienating his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change
anything now even if he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he
was fully reminded of God's original mandate regarding the two boys even
before they were born. Hardly knowing how to explain his wanton error to
Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it. But it was Isaac's fault all along. He
should never have led Esau to believe he would get the blessing. So many
dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they raised their kids.
Isaac was certainly no better.
†. Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he
might supplant me these two times? First he took away my
birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!
Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course
conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for
a measly bowl of porridge; so to speak.
†. Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing
for me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him
master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and
sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you,
my son? And Esau said to his father: Have you but one blessing,
Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud.
It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he
man screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he
begged his dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that
somehow God, through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to
change His mind. The portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to
Esau the most-- that of political superiority and material security-- had been
irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the blubbering in the world couldn't
change the situation now.
Esau's fate went on to become the model and example of people who fail to
appreciate the value of Christ's crucifixion.
†. Heb 12:15-17 . . looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of
God . . lest there be any fornicator; or profane person like Esau, who for one
morsel of food sold his birthright. 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.
The unfortunate situation with irreverent people is that they never seem able
to appreciate their blessings until they're lost without hope of recovery.
Cont.
/
father Isaac-- after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his
brother Esau came back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and
brought it to his father. And he said to his father: Let my father sit
up and eat of his son's game, so that you may give me your
innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who are you? And
he said: I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with
very violent trembling.
According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed
the wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the
son for whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he
saw Hell open beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased
with his intentions; and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he
would suffer dire consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were
true.
It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came
home to him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God
overruled Isaac, and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he was
supposed to do in the first place.
Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca,
and by his faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much
up until now. I think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people
that they were, deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from
doing what he very well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the
whole scheme, and had blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to
the contrary. Jacob would indeed be blessed, just as he should have been all
along.
†. Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game
and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I
blessed him; now he must remain blessed!
This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to
change it. He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these
thoughts came over him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts
must have overwhelmed him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future,
heartbreak over Rebecca's treachery, resentment at having his own plans
thwarted, and shame for having played the fool in such an important
spiritual matter. All those feelings surely contributed to his trembling, not to
mention the very sight of Hell opening at his feet.
Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had
incurred great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed
the trust of his father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home;
all because of a carnal appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's
physical exploits. No wonder the poor man was shaking so badly.
†. Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into
wild and bitter sobbing,
The word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak') and
means: to shriek.
I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very
same hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White
Throne judgment of Rev 20:10-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally
sinks in that they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.
At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then
quite bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad
shivering, and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the
awful truth became only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his
disappointment with a dreadful scream.
†. Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!
In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was
actually hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the
fraudulent blessing. Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the
older son like he wanted to. But no. It was far more serious than either Esau
or his dad imagined; which by now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.
†. Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and
took away your blessing.
That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent
alienating his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change
anything now even if he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he
was fully reminded of God's original mandate regarding the two boys even
before they were born. Hardly knowing how to explain his wanton error to
Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it. But it was Isaac's fault all along. He
should never have led Esau to believe he would get the blessing. So many
dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they raised their kids.
Isaac was certainly no better.
†. Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he
might supplant me these two times? First he took away my
birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!
Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course
conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for
a measly bowl of porridge; so to speak.
†. Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing
for me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him
master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and
sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you,
my son? And Esau said to his father: Have you but one blessing,
Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud.
It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he
man screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he
begged his dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that
somehow God, through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to
change His mind. The portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to
Esau the most-- that of political superiority and material security-- had been
irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the blubbering in the world couldn't
change the situation now.
Esau's fate went on to become the model and example of people who fail to
appreciate the value of Christ's crucifixion.
†. Heb 12:15-17 . . looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of
God . . lest there be any fornicator; or profane person like Esau, who for one
morsel of food sold his birthright. 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.
The unfortunate situation with irreverent people is that they never seem able
to appreciate their blessings until they're lost without hope of recovery.
Cont.
/
