Scripture
Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing
1One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”
“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.
2“I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”
5But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
11“But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”
13But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!”
14So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.
18So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.
“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
19Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”
20Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.
21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24“But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.
25Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
27So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!
28“From the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may God always give you abundant harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
29May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
All who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”
30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”
32But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”
33Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”
34When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.
35But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”
36Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice.[1] First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
37Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?”
38Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.
39Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,
“You will live away from the richness of the earth,
and away from the dew of the heaven above.
40You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you decide to break free,
you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
Jacob Flees to Paddan-Aram
41From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”
42But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.”
Translation notes (1)
- 27:36 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.”
When Esau heard his father's words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!" he begged. But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing." Genesis 27:34-35
While we may believe that we are immune to the consequences of our sins and bad decisions, the truth is that we are not. Each one of our bad decisions and our sins has consequences that we will face. There is no escaping the consequences of our sins. Kids learn this from a young age, and adults sometimes need to remind themselves of this truth. Jacob certainly learned that his sins and bad decisions led to numerous consequences and broken relationships.
Genesis tells us about the life of Jacob, a man who made many bad decisions that led him to give in to sin, and he faced the consequences. The name Jacob meant deceiver, and Jacob lived up to that name. Jacob was the twin brother of Esau. Esau was the oldest, born just a few minutes before Jacob. Because Esau was the oldest brother, he would later receive the family birthright and blessing from their father, Isaac. In this culture, both the birthright and blessing were a big deal. Jacob desperately wanted his family's birthright and his father's blessing, and he deceived his way into getting both even though Esau was their rightful heir. Genesis 25 tells us about when Jacob deceived his twin brother Esau into selling him his birthright, which was "his rights as the firstborn" (verse 34). Next, in Genesis 27, Jacob tricked his father into giving him his blessing instead of his twin brother Esau. These actions enraged Esau and ultimately led Jacob to flee from his home out of fear that Esau would kill him. He fled to his uncle's house for safety. Jacob continued his deceptive actions in Genesis 30 when he went behind his father-in-law Laban's back and stole his best livestock. Once again, Jacob had to take his family and run away, fleeing Laban out of fear of how he would respond.
Jacob's deception led him to live a life on the run. Twice he had to pick up and leave his life behind. Specifically, he missed out on time with his father and his brother. These were just a few consequences he faced for his sin and deception. Unfortunately, he was not immune to sin's consequences, and we are not either.
Moving toward action
Take some time to think about the consequences you have faced in the past for bad decisions and sins you committed. Are there any sins you have been giving in to currently? Think about the consequences you have faced for that sin, both big and small. Acknowledge these consequences, and take steps to let go of these sins and live obediently instead.
Going Deeper
Genesis 27:1-46
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