261. JACOB € THE BIRTHRIGHT AND THE BLESSING

"Two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels"

 

Abraham continued living many years after the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, and did not die until Jacob, the son of Isaac, was about 14 years of age. Isaac never left the Land of Promise; even in times of drought and famine he remained there (Gen. 26:1-2). God made the same wonderful promises to him that He had made to Abraham (Gen. 26:3-5). Although he was discomforted by the people of the land (as foretold in Gen. 15:13), and was sometimes forced into contention with them, he continued to worship God faithfully, always looking forward to the time when all such bitterness would cease, and the glorious times that God has promised would be revealed in the earth (Neh. 11:9, 13).

The aim of this lesson is to show why God preferred Jacob to Esau; and how God's over-riding providence shaped the lives of all concerned in the carrying out of His purpose.

 

Genesis 25 and 27 ESAU AND JACOB (Gen. 25:19-28).

Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau the elder was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. He had an ardent, impetuous temperament and was not influenced by spiritual considerations. Isaac lov ed Esau, particularly for the venison he caught and prepared for him.

Jacob, the younger, was an upright, sincere man, dwelling in tents. He was impressed with the things of God. Note that in Gen. 25:27, the Hebrew word for "plain" is the same word rendered "perfect" in Job 1:1. It means (i) complete, (ii) pious or upright, but (iii) specifically gentle (Strong). He was a prudent, peaceful man, greatly loved by his mother. Before their birth, God told her that "the elder would serve the younger."

Paul in Romans 9:10-13 draws attention to the fact that Jacob was God's choice. God in His mercy chose Jacob and Jacob subsequently responded to His love and served Him faithfully. Esau did not, although he had the same opportunities. In the following history of the two seeds, God is seen to be right (cp. Mal. 1:2-3). Today, likewise, "God is taking out of the Gentiles a people for His Name" (Acts 15:14). We are included in this call, but we must respond to it in loving and obedient service. If we do, God "will make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mer cy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath call ed... (out) of the Gentiles" (Rom. 9:23-24).

 

JACOB'S LIFE € TYPICAL OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY.

The following summaries of Jacob's life and the experiences of the na tion of Israel show how his life was typical of the nation that was called by his divinely changed name (Israel).

 

Jacob €

• He gained the birthright and the blessing;
• He was driven from his home by the enmity of his brother;
• He suffered in exile working for his uncle, Laban;
• He returned home yet still in fear of his brother, Esau;
• His name was changed to Israel (Prince with God);
• He was reconciled to his brother;
• He settled in peace in the Land of Promise.

 

Israel €

• They are God's firstborn nation;
• They were driven from their homeland through their own folly and by the enmity of the Gentiles;
• They Slave suffered in exile;
• Their latter-day return to their land is marked by times of fear (Jer. 30:4-9);
• They are to be changed in heart at Christ's return (Ezek. 36:25-27);
• They are to be reconciled to the Gentiles in the universal kingdom Christ will establish (Isa. 19:24-25);
• They will settle in peace in the Land of Promise (Isa. 60:18, etc.).

 

Jacob means "supplanter", and the record of his life shows how he supplanted in the first instance through the manipulations of he and his mother, but later through divine elevation.

 

ESAU € A CARNAL MAN.

Rebekah was told that her two sons, Esau and Jacob, represented "two nations and two manner of people"; that is, two people of fun damentally different outlooks. Esau €

 

• Preferred the things of the flesh to the things of God (Gen. 25:30; Heb. 12:16-17);
• Failed to receive the blessing reserved for the firstborn;
• Persecuted his brother;
• Was removed from the land of Promise to make room for Jacob.

 

If Jacob represented Israel, then Esau represents the Gentiles who shall yet seek out Israel in the age to come (Zech. 8:23).

 

ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT (Gen. 25:29-34).

Esau returned faint from hunting. He had been long away from home and perhaps had caught nothing. Thus without food, he was famished, and appeared on the point of death. He demanded food and was prepared to sell his birthright to gain it. The spiritual advantages of the birthright meant nothing to this man of the flesh. "Feed me with that red pottage," he demanded. "Sod pottage" (v.29) means boiled stew or soup. Jacob's pottage consisted of lentils (v.34). The word "red" in Hebrew is "Edom" and it is because of this that his name was changed to Edom. In Isa. 1:18 this word is translated "red" and the verse shows that this is the colour of sin. The word "Adam" is a closely related word in Hebrew.

 

THE BIRTHRIGHT.

The eldest son's position was one of great respect (Deut. 21:15-17). He was the firstborn, the head of his brethren. He succeeded to his father's official authority and had a special claim to his father's blessing, receiv ing a double portion of his father's goods. This birthright could be transferred, or withheld by the father for a just cause. Esau surrendered his priceless birthright for a pot of stew!

Notice God's intention to "make" Jesus "His firstborn" (Ps. 89:27). He has been elevated to that position although he is the "second Adam"; the "first Adam" was disqualified because of sin (Col. 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:45).

 

JACOB'S BLESSING AND THE RESULT (Gen. 27:1-40).

This chapter shows how Jacob, at the instigation of Rebekah, deceived his father and obtained the blessing. According to the message given by God to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23, he was really entitled to this, and he had already obtained Esau's birthright, but Rebekah took matters into her own hands, instead of leaving them to God.

Whilst Esau was out hunting deer to make venison for his father, preparatory to receiving the blessing, Rebekah prepared a suitable dish and, disguising her son, pretended that he was Esau. Isaac was so feeble that the deception was not detected. Though in fact he continued to live many years, Isaac was ill at the time, and felt death was near.

Thus Jacob obtained the blessing. "Nations" and "his mother's sons" were to bow to him, and he was to be blessed with the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth. Jacob has not yet received this blessing in its fullness. Like those made to Abraham and Isaac, it will be received in the Kingdom of God.

It is interesting to note that Hebrews says, "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come" (11:20). Yet the record in Genesis makes it quite clear that Isaac intended to bless the wrong boy!

The explanation can be seen in what follows. When the deception was discovered, Isaac did not vent his anger upon Jacob as might have been expected, but "trembled exceedingly" (v.33). It is obvious that Isaac knew that he was in error, and although He wanted to bless Esau, he ac cepted that Jacob was the one whom God had chosen. God had overridden his natural desires. Isaac's faith then rose to the fore, and with Esau looking on in utter dismay he said, "Yea, and he shall be blessed!" He then gave a blessing to Esau but not in the terms of the Abrahamic pro mise. Thus he acted "by faith".

 

ESAU'S HATRED (Gen. 27:41-46).

Esau tried to kill Jacob in order to obtain the blessing for himself. He was moved by envy and jealousy, even to tears, but "found no place of repentance" (Heb. 12:17). The word "repentance" means "change of mind" (see margin). Esau did not repent, in the ordinary sense of the word; he wept before his father in an endeavour to change his father's mind, but his own mind was already plotting the murder of his brother!

Knowing this, Rebekah urged Jacob to leave home. She reminded Isaac of the unwise marriage of Esau, and suggested that Jacob should be sent to her brother Laban's home to obtain a wife of her own kindred (cp. Gen. 26:34-35). Thus, Jacob was caused to leave his home for fear of his brother.

Before he left, however, his father blessed him and expressed the desire that: €

 

1. God would give him the blessing of Abraham;
2. He would develop into a multitude of people;
3. He would inherit the land in which he was a stranger (28:3, 4).

 

In this prayer the Abrahamic promise was conferred on him. We should remember that Jacob died in Egypt, so that he has not as yet in herited these promises.

 

So Jacob left his father's house and commenced a journey that took him back to Haran to the family of Laban.

 

LESSONS FOR US:

• Jacob and Esau were twins. Esau was the first-born and a man of the flesh, while Jacob was an upright, sincere person.
• Rebekah was told they were "two manner of people": Jacob represented God's people and Esau represented the Gentiles. History has shown their seed to be different types.
• At their birth it was said that the elder should serve the younger, but this will not happen fully until the Kingdom of God comes (Jer. 16:19; Zech. 8:23).
• Esau despised his birthright as did Adam, God's "firstborn" in the Garden of Eden. Jacob succeeded to the birthright of Esau as Christ succeeded to that of Adam (Ps. 89:27; Col. 1:15).
• Esau lost both birthright and blessing, things which relate to the future, because he was a man who lived for the present.
• Though driven to exile by Esau's desire to kill him, Jacob was protected by God: natural Israel has similarly been protected during the long "times of the Gentiles".

 

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

€ The Ways of Providence" (R. Roberts) € Chapters 5 and 6

"Elpis Israel" (J. Thomas) € Pages 264-269

"The Story of the Bible" (H. P. Mansfield) € Vol. 1, Pages 141-150

 

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. What message did God give Rebekah about her twin sons?
2. In what way did Esau despise the birthright?
3. Why was Jacob selected by God for the blessing?
4. What lessons do we learn from Esau?
5. How did Isaac show faith when he blessed his sons?
6. How was the foreknowledge of God seen before Jacob and Esau were born?

 

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. How did Jacob steal his father's blessing from Esau? How did Jacob's life foreshadow that of Israel? Write an essay contrasting the characters of Esau and Jacob. In your answer relate the incidents involving the birthright and the blessing. The Lord said to Rebekah, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23).

 

How was this prophecy shown to be true in the lives of Esau and Jacob and their descendants?

 

Section 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISRAEL

Israel's development as a nation took 430 years from the call of Abraham until they left Egypt under Moses (Ex. 12:40-41). First Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, whose twelve sons became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This period of Israel's history is notable for three outstanding men of faith: Jacob, who clung to God through all his trials; Joseph, whose life was so typical of that of the Lord Jesus Christ; and Moses, whose life was shaped by Providence to fit him for the task of leading Israel from its slavery in Egypt.

Yahweh's hand could be seen in each of their lives. Less spectacularly, but not less effectively, His hand could also be seen in the rapid multiplication of the nation's population whilst they dwelt in Egypt. He "exalted the people" (Acts 13:17). The 75 kindred of Joseph who went into Egypt became approximately two million in the space of little more than two centuries, and the way was made for their constitution as a Kingdom.