Jacob Steals the Blessing

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Studying God’s Word

Introduction

Last week we looked at the circumstances of the birth of Esau and Jacob. We saw promises given and conflict introduced.

• What was the prophecy given to Rebekah? That the younger twin would rule over the older.
• Genesis 25:27–28 offered some foreshadowing. What did these verses set up? They set up a tension within the family by acknowledging the favoritism.
• What happened to show the tension building in the family? Esau, the older, sold his birthright to Jacob, the younger, for a bowl of stew.

  As we ended last week, Esau had just sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Today we are going to continue looking at how God’s prophecy to Rebekah was fulfilled—but in a most unusual way. As I mentioned last week, it seems that the account of the stew is out of order chronologically, placed where it is to illustrate the tension building in the family.

Chapter 26 opens with the affirmation of God’s faithfulness to Isaac and of his further wandering in Canaan (which we will look at later). As we have been saying, the promise of the Seed (offspring) had been reiterated to Abraham. Isaac was the son who would carry on that promise, not Ishmael or any of the sons of Keturah. Listen and follow along as I read Genesis 26:1–5. Read the passage.

What elements of the promise given to Abraham do you recognize? The promises to give him the land of Canaan he was wandering in, to make his offspring as numerous as the stars, and to bless all nations through him.

Today, we are going to start by seeing how Rebekah’s prophecy was fulfilled. You may also consider starting with the activity since it comes first in the text, but make sure you have time for the main lesson as the activity covers a secondary idea to the lesson goals.

The Prophecy Fulfilled

As we move into this text, most of you are probably familiar with this account. But we need to be careful not to bring our preconceived ideas into the text, but let it speak to us.

• To make that point, let me ask you a question. How old do you think the twins were when Isaac blessed them? How have they looked in illustrations you have seen? Discuss various answers with the students. If you have an illustrated Bible or other resources that depict this scene, consider bringing them in to show the students. Refer back to this idea in the questions below.

Let’s read Genesis 27:1–29 together, looking for the fulfillment of that prophecy. Divide the passage for class members to read aloud (possibly divide at verse 18).

• How old was Isaac at this point? While the text doesn’t explicitly say, we know that he died at 180 (Genesis 35:28), and we can work backward through other dates given through the rest of Genesis to a date about 43 years earlier. That makes Isaac 137 at this point.
• How old would that make Esau and Jacob? Since we know that Isaac was 60 when the twins were born (25:26), that would make the twins 77 at this point (137-60=77). Discuss the students’ previous answers to the Come On In question. That might give them a bit of a perspective change.
• What do we learn about Isaac’s physical condition? He had lost his eyesight and seems to be confined to a bed at this point. He thought he was dying, but he would actually live 43 more years.
• Whom did Isaac call? Esau.
• What did Isaac ask of Esau? He asked him to hunt and prepare a meal of wild game for him.
• Why did Isaac call Esau? Isaac thought he was about to die, and he wanted to give his final blessing to his eldest son.
• Who was listening in? Rebekah.
• Whom did Rebekah tell of what she overheard? Jacob.
• What do you notice about the way Isaac refers to Esau in verse 1 and how Rebekah refers to Jacob in verse 8? Both use “my son” to refer the sons.
• How does this connect to what we read in 25:27–28? Each of the parents had a favorite child, and that is reflected here. Esau is favored by Isaac while Jacob is favored by Rebekah.
• What did Rebekah command Jacob to do? She sent him to get two young goats from the flock.
• What was she going to do with the goats? She was going to prepare the goats for Isaac, imitating the wild game he asked of Esau.
• What was Jacob’s role? To take the food to Isaac, imitating Esau to receive the blessing.
• What flaw did Jacob spot in his mother’s plan? Isaac might recognize Jacob’s smooth skin and know it was not Esau, a hairy man. Remember that he was described as being born with hair like a cloak.
• How far did Rebekah go to pull off the deception? She prepared the goats, dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothing, and covered Jacob’s arms and neck with the skins from the goats. (This gives us an idea of how hairy Esau was.) Then she sent Jacob with the food to Isaac. Rebekah had developed an elaborate deception.
• When Jacob went in to Isaac, what did he say to his father? He told him that he was Esau and that he had prepared the meal and was ready to receive the blessing. This was a blatant lie.
• Why was Isaac surprised? “Esau” had returned so quickly that it surprised Isaac. He didn’t believe he had had enough time to hunt the game and prepare it.
• How did Jacob respond? He told another lie, saying his hunt had been quick.
• Whom did Jacob drag into his deception? He claimed that God had granted him success.
• Did Isaac believe the report? It seems he was still skeptical as he asked to feel his son since he couldn’t see him. This proved Jacob’s previous concern valid.
• What confused Isaac? He heard Jacob’s voice, but was now feeling a hairy son.
• What happened when Isaac asked again if he was Esau (v. 24)? Jacob lied again, saying he was Esau.
• What happened to the food? Isaac ate it and drank wine with it.
• What did Isaac do just before he gave the blessing? He asked his son to come near and kiss him.
• What seems to be the motive of Isaac in this action? It seems that he wanted one more chance to see if this was Esau, since upon smelling the clothing, he was willing to go forward with the blessing. Esau’s clothing would have smelled of the field.
• Whom did Isaac name in the blessing? He did not use a specific name; the blessing was generic even though he thought he was blessing Esau.
• What specific element of the blessing fulfilled the prophecy given to Rebekah? She was told that the older would serve the younger, and Isaac said that Jacob should be lord over his brothers and that his mother’s sons should bow to him. Thus, the blessing was that the older would bow down to the younger.
• What metaphors are used in the positive aspects of the blessing? The blessing equated Jacob to a field that is blessed by God. It used the “dew of heaven,” “fatness of the earth,” and “plenty of grain and wine” to describe the abundance of favor on Jacob’s life.
• What are the negative aspects of the blessing? Those who cursed Jacob would be cursed.
• Was Isaac disobedient to God in giving this blessing to Esau (as he believed)? While it is not stated explicitly in the text, Isaac surely knew of the prophecy that had been delivered 77 years earlier. If he did, he would have been violating God’s revealed will by giving his blessing and birthright to Esau rather than to Jacob.

Discover the Truth

Well, Jacob got the blessing that had been promised to him before his birth. He and his mother worked hard to deceive Isaac and override what Esau was to receive. But isn’t this a good thing? Didn’t they bring about God’s plan? Weren’t they used by God to fulfill the prophecy? Frame these questions rhetorically.

• You have all surely heard the phrase “the end justifies the means.” How does that phrase seem to fit with what we have just read? It seems that Rebekah and Jacob were willing to deceive Isaac to bring about the end that they knew God had intended.
• Was this the right thing for Jacob and Rebekah to do? No. This is a pragmatic approach that seeks to bring about God’s plans in man’s timing by unholy means.

• Slide #16
  What do Romans 3:8 and 6:1–2 teach us about Jacob and Rebekah’s actions? We should not sin to bring about good. Applying these principles, we see that Jacob and Rebekah were not acting in accord with God’s revealed will.

  We need to be careful in asking “what-if” questions about what God has plainly revealed to us. Since we know God had promised that Jacob would rule over his brother, we can trust it would have happened even if Jacob and Rebekah hadn’t carried out their deception. Maybe God would have brought Isaac to conviction the moment he was about to bless Esau, or maybe Rebekah could have simply talked to her husband, reminding him of the prophecy. There are many scenarios in which the prophecy could have been fulfilled without employing sinful methods.

  While God surely uses people to bring about his plans, he doesn’t want us to be so pragmatic that we would sin to bring about good. God is the God of truth—he cannot lie. If we are to represent him as his image-bearers, we must always speak what is true. When we lie, we say that the one whom we represent is a liar—that is blasphemous.

  And when we sin, there are consequences. Let’s look at those consequences in this situation.

Consequences of Deception

We left off with Isaac giving the blessing to Esau, or so he thought. Let’s pick up the text and read verses 30–46. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• What do we learn about the timing of these events? Jacob exited as Esau entered. If we were dramatizing this, we might imagine Jacob slipping off stage right as Esau entered stage left.
• Why was Isaac surprised by his son bringing him a meal? He thought he had just blessed Esau, so the request for a blessing was surprising.
• How did Esau identify himself? He said that he was the firstborn son and gave his name.
• How did Isaac respond? He was physically shaken, trembling violently.
• What did Isaac acknowledge about the blessing he had given to Jacob? He said it was established: “Yes, and he shall be blessed” (v. 33).
• How did Esau respond upon hearing that Isaac had already given his blessing to his brother? He was bitter and cried out, begging for a blessing from his father.
• What was probably in Esau’s mind as he asked for his father’s blessing? He may have recalled the previous event of selling his birthright to his brother and may have realized that his mistake in the past seemed to be playing out now.
• What did Isaac realize in verse 35? He realized that Jacob had deceived him and had taken the blessing intended for Esau.
• How does Esau’s response in verse 36 connect back to the birth narrative? Esau pointed to Jacob’s living up to his name as a deceiver. He acknowledged that the birthright and the blessing had been taken from him through exploitation.
• Did Esau really expect to lose his birthright and blessing? Based on his response and identifying himself as the firstborn, it seems he still expected to get the birthright and blessing even though he had relinquished it to his brother. There is no indication that Isaac knew of the previous deception and every indication that Esau thought he could still get the benefits he had sold for a bowl of stew.
• How did Isaac explain Jacob’s blessing to Esau? He told Esau that Jacob had been made lord over the family (all his brothers) and that the wealth of the family (grain and wine) was under Jacob’s control.
• How did the blessing of Esau compare to Jacob’s? The blessing is almost opposite. Notice the phrasing of the “fatness of the earth” and “dew of heaven” as parallel but opposite ideas. Note: The KJV and NKJV translations use a textual variant that indicates Esau would receive these, not be “away from” them.
• What would Esau’s lifestyle be? He would live by the sword, indicating a life of struggle and conflict.
• Who would Esau serve? His brother, Jacob. Again, a confirmation of the birth prophecy.
• How did Esau feel as a result of the deception? He hated Jacob.
• What did he plot? He intended to kill his brother.
• When would he do this? The phrase “days of mourning” can be understood to mean after Isaac’s death. Esau, as well, apparently believed Isaac was about to die.
• Who heard about Esau’s plans? Rebekah.
• What did she command of Jacob? To go to Haran to live with her brother Laban.
• How long was he to stay there? No specific time is given, but long enough for Esau to forget about wanting to kill Jacob.
• How would Jacob know when to return? Rebekah would send for him.
• Who are the “both” that Rebekah fears losing? She stood to lose both of her sons in one day. If Esau unjustly killed Jacob, he would be executed (Genesis 9:5–6).

• Slide #24
  What do we learn about Esau and his relationship to his parents in Genesis 26:34–35? Esau had married pagan Hittite women when he was 40, which made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. This is presumably because of the ungodly influence of these women on Esau. This was an element of foreshadowing that was about to come into play in this situation, some 37 years later.
• What complaint did Rebekah bring to Isaac? She brought the fear that Jacob would marry a Hittite woman and bring more trouble into the family.

Discover the Truth

And we are going to leave it right there. You’ll have to come back next week to find out what happens.

I trust you can see the devastating consequences, but let’s talk about them for a minute

• What are the consequences of Jacob’s and Rebekah’s deception? Discuss the consequences, including turmoil in the family, sin leading to more sin, broken relationships, murderous threats, etc.

  The deception that accompanied Jacob’s life has brought Esau to the point of wanting to murder him. You can hear the echoes of Cain and Abel where jealousy led to the first murder. The same sin that was in the heart of Cain was passed on to Esau, and even Jacob. Rebekah also demonstrated the stain of sin as she deceived her husband and eldest son, leading Jacob into sin. And Isaac seems to have been rebelling against God’s prophecy, seeking to bless Esau over Jacob.

  That stain of sin is seen throughout the Old Testament. We jumped over most of chapter 26, but I am going to ask you to go back and see the constant deception that marked this family.

Mistakes of Our Fathers Activity

Pass out the Mistakes of Our Fathers worksheets.

Your job is to compare the actions of Isaac to his father’s previous actions. You can work in small groups to fill out this worksheet, and then we’ll discuss it. If time is short, you may want to look at the data-highlights of the accounts, focusing on the common theme of deception.

Connect to the Truth

As we look at the similarities, it is clear that Isaac repeated the sinful actions of his father.

• Slide #25
  What are the common themes you see in these three accounts? In each, the men were seeking to save their own lives by deception since they feared they would be killed because their wives were beautiful. Discuss other common themes the students find.
• What do you notice about the consequences Abraham and Isaac received for their deception? Interestingly, in one case Abraham was told to leave Egypt, but in the other cases he was protected and prospered. This does not mean that God was blessing them for their deception, but that even in spite of their sinful behavior, God was being faithful to his promise to bring about a great nation through them.
• What instruction can we draw from these examples? Here we see a negative example of deceiving others to preserve our own lives. This shows a lack of trust in God to fulfill his plans. Both men knew God had promised to prosper them, but they chose to use sinful means to preserve themselves.

  As we consider these deceptive acts, we can see a pattern. But this isn’t some generational curse. It is the pattern of sin that lies in all our hearts. Abraham did not model integrity for his family, and Isaac did not model it for his family.

  As parents or older siblings, or in whatever relationship we have with others, we must model a Christ-like attitude. As we rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us, we can reflect the character of God in our actions and show those who are watching what God is like. They can see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

Application

As we have said before, in the Bible, God is not afraid to tell us about the shortcomings of the patriarchs. From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, these men’s deceptions are recorded for us to learn from. These were not superhumans who never sinned and always pleased God. Even Rebekah participated in the deception. If we don’t stop and consider these actions carefully, we run the risk of following in their footsteps—much as we saw within Isaac’s family.

But in the midst of all of the sinful actions, God was still working out his plans, even though Rebekah and Jacob took matters into their own hands rather than trusting in God’s timing. God is always faithful, and we must not ever think that we can sin in order to bring about good. That type of pragmatism can grow like a cancer—one compromise leading to another. One lie driving us to tell another to cover it up. And all the while, more consequences are waiting ahead. Sin always breeds more sin.

But we can thank God that in his faithfulness and mercy he has provided a way of escape from our own sinfulness and its consequences. We will see this in the lives of Jacob and Esau as we move forward. But the ultimate expression of that faithfulness and mercy is found in Jesus Christ. And even through Jacob, this deceiver, the one who is the way the truth and the life would be born.

Let us make sure that we think of how we can apply these ideas as we leave and go out into the world we live in. We want to make sure that we are not merely hearing the Word, but seeking to be doers of what we read in it.

• Slide #26

  Slide #27

  Slide #28

  Slide #29

  Slide #30

  Slide #31
  How are you encouraged when you read about the failings of the main characters in Scripture? Discuss various ideas, especially how we can know that God uses imperfect people to carry out his plans and how we can trust that the Bible is not some fanciful account that seeks to glorify its heroes.
• Have you ever heard the phrase “The end justifies the means”? While there might be cases in which we could apply this maxim, what lines must we not cross in order to bring about something good? Discuss the balance between doing the things God has called us to do and seeking to bring about things in our own timing. We can never sin and think that we are carrying out God’s will, even though he can redeem such things. The world tries to justify doing sinful things in order to bring about good, but we must not. Consider discussing how situational ethics is often used to justify sinning in certain situations in order to bring about “good” ends.
• Rebekah knew that God had made a promise to the son she favored. Rather than waiting on God, she took matters into her own hands. When do you find it difficult to trust God and wait on his timing? Encourage several students to share specific examples. Discuss various answers. Connect this to God’s faithfulness described in 2 Timothy 2:11–13.
• Part of being God’s image-bearers is reflecting the character of God to others around us. If we practice deception, what will others think of the God that we represent? We will be poor witnesses; our behavior will undermine our witness. As Christians, we are supposed to be growing to be more like Jesus—the perfect representation of the Father. If we practice deception, we are not accurately representing God to others.
• In what ways can we learn from the negative example of the favoritism displayed in this passage? Discuss how showing favor to one person over another can create resentment and lead to more sin in a family or community. When we show favoritism, we are valuing one person more than another when God has created us each unique but equally valuable.
• How do we connect the sins of deception and favoritism that we have seen in these chapters of Genesis with the truths of the gospel? When we fall short of meeting God’s perfect standard, we can know that Jesus has both paid for that sin on the cross and offers us his righteousness in the place of our sin.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his faithfulness even in the times when we are faithless.
• Ask God for patience to wait on his timing.
• Thank God for being willing to use us even though we are weak vessels.