The Big Reveal - Genesis 27:28-36

27:28-29 - the actual blessing that Isaac gives Jacob can seem kind of vague, I’m sure that there is a deeper meaning to it like that some words indicate something else, but I don’t know about that right now. Isaac blessing Jacob, thinking it was Esau, with temporal blessings such as “dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.” He’s also blessing with leadership so that “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.” There are a couple of interesting points in this part here, the first being “thy mother’s sons.” Isaac and Rebekah only had the two boys, and I wonder if the phrase “thy mother’s sons” is referring to Esau’s mother’s favorite son, Jacob. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Isaac just say “your brother,” or maybe he means something altogether different from that, but that specific phrasing is just a little too specific for me to think that it wasn’t an intended dig at Rebekah and her relationship with Jacob. Another point brought up here is that of having “people serve thee.” I don’t think that Isaac intended to promote slavery with this statement, therefore, the “serving” part would have to be part of a symbiotic relationship where one party “serves” and the other party protects and guides towards greatness. Therefore, being “served” by nations and other relatives and such isn’t a position of freedom, but instead a commentary on necessary leadership qualities. The last bit of the blessing pertains to power over the state of other people, saying, “cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” Blessings and curses aren’t tangible, physical elements that someone could guarantee or control at all, these states of being are at the discretion of the ultimate higher power and decides matters like peace and good fortune. This might be the spiritual aspect of the blessing that is so important. As far as a “reading of the will,” maybe I just don’t have enough context but all this seems pretty non-descript to me, but it must have been a big deal to them. 27:30-36 - By the skin of his teeth, Jacob makes it out of the room with the blessing just before “Esau his brother came in from his hunting.” Esau had made the food that Isaac likes and says “let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.” This is where Isaac fully realizes what has happened, and starts shaking and asking who had come before with food who got the blessing instead. Esau realizes what has happened and begs his father “bless me, even me also, O my father.” Again, maybe it’s because the blessing is so vague that I always thought, “why not just give Esau a blessing that’s nice too,” because I hadn’t realized that the words that seem so nonspecific to me, actually had great meaning and specificity to this little ancient family. Isaac must have realized what happened at this point too because he tells Esau, “thy brother came with subtilty, and hath take away thy blessing.” Esau is understandably furious, noting that Jacob has taken away both his birthright and his blessing, and asks Isaac “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” It’s interesting to consider at this point exactly what has shaken out in this situation. Esau being the first born, was initially given the opportunity and responsibility to take over his father’s position when he died. But the Lord revealed to Rebekah that it would instead be Jacob, the second born who would assume Isaac’s mantle. This begs the question, if God is all knowing and all powerful, why didn’t he just make Jacob the oldest in the first place? Why not just have Jacob be born first and all of this trickery and animosity would have been avoided? I don’t have an answer for that, except to say that there must have been some sort of lesson or loyalty that needed to be established and this was the only way. We know that Esau would have been heartbroken and deeply distressed and a loving God wouldn’t have allowed a situation where someone would experience pain and suffering unless there was no other way. If there was another, easier way to accomplish his goals and he went the pain and suffering route instead, that would make Him cruel, and God is not cruel, it’s not possible. I consider this whenever I think about the horrible things that happen in this world, I think that there is no other way, there can’t be, this is it, this is the only path, and that comforts and makes sense to me.