Hair of the Goat - Genesis 27:6-27

27:6-13 - I’m still not super clear on the difference between birthright and blessing, I think it’s that the birthright is just who’s considered to be the oldest to inherit the biggest portion of the estate, and then the blessing is dad telling everyone what they are going to get, with the holder of the birthright receiving the largest share and the most responsibility. There’s also the component in the case of Isaac in that the birthright also includes the right to carry the priesthood in that lineage. It’s been clear to Rebekah and therefore probably Isaac that the will of God was for Jacob to be the bearer of the birthright by personal revelation, and that has probably been the knowledge that the boys had been raised with. Plus when we factor in the whole “trading” of the birthright for lentils, the issue becomes very complicated very quickly especially if we consider the mixed feelings that the boys and their parents probably had about the whole thing. I don’t know if it’s because Isaac didn’t believe Rebekah when she told him about her revelation about God’s will that Jacob have the birthright, or if he didn’t want Jacob to have it either because he favored Esau or because he felt bad for Esau and the way he was treated in the whole birthright thing. Either way, when Isaac decided that it was time to bestow the birthright blessing, he was very quiet about it, whereas I would imagine that because this is such a big deal, it would have normal been a huge family affair that included all the people under Isaac’s protection and rule. But here we see Isaac kind of sneak around to bless Esau first before Jacob, regardless of what God’s will was, or what the boys had worked out between themselves previously. Fortunately for her, Rebekah heard Isaac tell Esau to go hunt some meat and make him the food that he likes, and then Isaac will give Esau his blessing. Rebekah was probably exasperated, like “we’ve already discussed this so many times and he’s trying to go behind my back,” or maybe she just felt like she was the one who had to carry out God’s will because Isaac wouldn’t do it. So she goes to Jacob and tells him to get two baby goats and that she will make Isaac food that he likes and then Jacob will take it to him pretending to be Esau “that he may bless thee before his death.” To his credit, Jacob had a few reservations about the plan, with the initial one being that Isaac would be able to tell the difference between his sons because “Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 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.” It seems that Jacob is at least a little bit more respectful of the power of the birthright blessing than he was when he conned Esau into giving it to him in the first place. I also think it’s an interesting contrast of opposites here, Jacob implies that the blessing has power from God and therefore the opposite must be true, the displeasure of God would be just as powerful. Knowing that this is the will of God through personal revelation, Rebekah responds, “Upon me be thy curse, my son.” I always thought that this was kind of a flippant attitude, like something you say to you kid to get them to just shut up and do what you say. But if we consider this in the context of her fully believing that God revealed to her that Jacob was to have the birthright, then of course she’d be willing to accept whatever consequences God seemed fit to bestow because of this little plot. 27:14-27 - Jacob does as he’s told and gets the goats and Rebekah makes the food that Isaac wants, dresses Jacob up in Esau’s clothes and then, astonishingly, she “put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.” Honestly, I really want to know just how hairy Esau really is, that goat skin was needed to convince his own father. Jacob takes the food to Isaac all made up to be Esau, but remember that Isaac is blind, so Jacob didn’t have to look the part as much as he had to feel and smell like Esau to be convincing. Isaac feels that this is a little bit fishy, asking several clarifying questions, such as, “How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?” Jacob answers that “the Lord thy God brought it to me.” Ok this is a fair point. But he’s still a little iffy, and I would assume that Rebekah is there also assuring Isaac that this is Esau, but then again, maybe not. Isaac tells Jacob to come near him and feels his hands and debates within himself, “the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau… Art thou my very son Esau?” and Jacob answered “I am.” Isaac ate the food and drank the wine and told Jacob to come give him a kiss, and when he gave his father a kiss, Isaac smelled Jacob in Esau’s clothes and was finally convinced, “and blessed him.” And we’ll discuss what the blessing covered next time.