GENESIS LESSON 39


     We will begin this lesson in Genesis 27:1 "And it came to pass,
that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not
see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he
said unto him, Behold, [here am] I."

     We learned before that Isaac's favorite was Esau. When Isaac
called Easu, he was right there to answer his father.

     Genesis 27:2 "And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the
day of my death:"
     Genesis 27:3 "Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy
quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me [some]
venison;"
     Genesis 27:4 "And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring
[it] to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die."

     Here was a father's request of his favorite son as a last request.
Isaac knew he could not live very long, and he wanted to speak a blessing
on his son before his departure. His son, also, was aware that his
father could not live very long. He desired to get the right hand
blessing (the best blessing) from his father before he died. The son
thought, if I would bring him food he loved, while he was still feeling
good, he would give me the best blessings he had. The father said, go
kill a deer and bring it to me.

     Genesis 27:5 "And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son.
And Esau went to the field to hunt [for] venison, [and] to bring
[it]."
     Genesis 27:6  "And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying,
Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,"
     Genesis 27:7 "Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I
may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death."

     Rebekah had been eavesdropping, and she had heard that Isaac was
about to bless his favorite son over her favorite son. She, now, was
starting this whole thing with Jacob.

     Genesis 27:8 "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to
that which I command thee."

     Mama had come up with a scheme to change these plans of Isaac.
She reminded Jacob that he was to obey her. Let us see what plan she
had.

     Genesis 27:9 "Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two
good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy
father, such as he loveth:"
     Genesis 27:10 "And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he
may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death."

     You can see what mama had figured out. Isaac was blind, and he
would mistake Jacob for Esau. Mamma knew that it would take Esau a
little while to locate a deer, and while he was hunting, Rebekah and Jacob
could fix that goat to taste like venison and trick Isaac Into blessing
Jacob.

     Genesis 27:11 "And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau
my brother [is] a hairy man, and I [am] a smooth man:"
     Genesis 27:12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall
seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not
a blessing."

     At least, Jacob realized that he would be responsible for the
curse being spoken, and not anyone else.  His father was blind, but he
still could feel. He knew Isaac would be able to tell the difference.

     Genesis 27:13 "And his mother said unto him, Upon me [be] thy
curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them]."
     Genesis 27:14 "And he went, and fetched, and brought [them] to
his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father
loved."
     Genesis 27:15 "And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son
Esau, which [were] with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her
younger son:"
     Genesis 27:16 "And she put the skins of the kids of the goats
upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:"

     Right here, we need to deal with Rebekah. Was she a deceiving
woman, or was she remembering the thing God told her about her two sons
before their birth? God told her that the older would serve the
younger. You know, Easu really did not deserve the birthright. He
sold it to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Did God give Rebekah this plan?
Did she scheme this up herself, or did God give her this plan to save
this blessing for Jacob? Jacob was God's choice from the beginning,
but Hebrews gave the best blessing to their oldest son. It was the
custom.  I do not believe I will try to answer the above. I will let
you comtemplate it.  Was this Rebekah's plan, or God's plan? God was
very with Esau when he sold the birthright, and also married two
earthly women.

     Genesis 27:17 "And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which
she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob."
     Genesis 27:18  "And he came unto his father, and said, My father:
and he said, Here [am] I; who [art] thou, my son?"
     Genesis 27:19 "And Jacob said unto his father, I [am] Esau thy
firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray
thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me."
     Genesis 27:20 And Isaac said unto his son, How [is it] that thou
hast found [it] so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy
God brought [it] to me."
     Genesis 27:21 "And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee,
that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou [be] my very son Esau or
not."
     Genesis 27:22 "And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he
felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob's voice, but the hands [are]
the hands of Esau."
     Genesis 27:23 "And he discerned him not, because his hands were
hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him."

     The plan had worked. Goat, if it is fixed correctly, tastes like
venison, so Isaac would not be able to tell the difference in taste.
He was amazed how fast it was prepared, but his son, Jacob, had learned
early from his father that it was ok to lie to save yourself, so he
said, God helped him find the deer. He, also, lied when he told his
father he was Esau. His father could not understand, if he was Easu,
why he had Jacob's voice. The hairy hands, and probably the odor from
Easu's clothes, convinced the father that this was truly Esau. So he
blessed Jacob.

     Genesis 27:24 "And he said, [Art] thou my very son Esau? And he
said, I [am]."

     He (Jacob) told a lie one more time to save himself.

     Genesis 27:25 "And he said, Bring [it] near to me, and I will eat
of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it]
near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank."
     Genesis 27:26 "And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now,
and kiss me, my son."
     Genesis 27:27 "And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled
the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of
my son [is] as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:"
     Genesis 27:28 "Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and
the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:"
     Genesis 27:29 "Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to
thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to
thee: cursed [be] every one that curseth thee, and blessed [be] he
that blesseth thee."

     The blessing that Isaac blessed Jacob with had been his ever
since the day that Easu sold it.  This blessing was the preferential
right hand blessing. A blessing that a patriarch spoke was as an
oracle of God. He was God's agent speaking this blessing. It was
without repentance. God would not change it. It would be done to the
utmost. This blessing was, that even nature itself would bless Jacob.
He would rule over nations, and even his brother would bow down unto
him. God's curse would be on anyone who cursed, and would bless anyone
who blessed Him. Even though he received the message through trickery,
it would not be reversed. This was God's doing, as well as Rebekah's and
Jacob's, or it would not have gone so well. Sometimes God uses things
that, in our mind, do not appear the right way, to perform the results
he wants.

     In the next lesson, we will pick in Easu in verse 30, chapter 27.





                             Questions 39


1.  What was wrong with Isaac's eyes?
2.  Who was Isaac's favorite?
3.  Why was Isaac about to bless Esau?
4.  What did he ask Esau to do? Why?
5.  What did Esau know about Isaac?
6.  In essence, what did Isaac tell Esau?
7.  Who overheard this conversation of Isaac and Esau?
8.  Was this pleasing to her?
9.  What did she tell Jacob to do?
10. What did she remind him about parents?
11. Jacob told Rebekah that Isaac would know the difference between
    the son's, because of what?
12. If there was a curse, who would it be on?
13. Who cooked the meat?
14. What did she put on Jacob's hands?
15. What choices were brought up about Rebekah?
16. What had God told her about the two boys?
17. Why did Esau not deserve the blessing.
18. Who was God's choice for the blessing?
19. Was this Rebekah's plan, or God's plan?
20. What question did Isaac ask Jacob when he carried the meat to his
    father?
21. Did Jacob explain why he got the meat so fast?
22. What did Isaac say about the voice and the hands?
23. Who did Jacob learn to lie from?
24. What two things convinced Isaac that Jacob was Esau?
25. Name several ways he blessed Jacob.
26. Who would be cursed?
27. When a patriarch blessed, he was representing whom?
28. Could this blessing on Jacob ever be reversed?
29. Name three who were actually part of this?