Esau, the firstborn of Isaac, marries Hittite women. Genesis 26
tells us that the women were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
These women worshiped false gods and no doubt lured Esau into pagan
practices as well. God repeatedly warns His people to stay away from
alliances with pagans.
Jacob received the birthright earlier when Esau bargained for a bowl of soup. The birthright was the scepter promise which gave Jacob the right for future generations to be kings. Jacob deceitfully received the blessing, which gave him and his future descendants riches and power. The birthright was a legitimate purchase from Esau. The blessing was stolen.
When
Isaac wonders at the speed at which the game meat is served, Jacob
justifies the deceit by giving credit to God. Hmmm...not a good thing!
The
blessings given to Jacob are extremely significant prophetically, both
literally (physically) and spiritually (figuratively). Jacob later
will be known as Israel, father of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Gen 27:28-29
May
God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness - an abundance of
grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to
you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be
blessed.
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. While
nations will not serve the man, Jacob, nations will serve Israel.
During portions of the reign of King David, and in the days of King
Solomon nations did serve and honor the nation of Israel. In our day,
some nations honor Israel, but most do not. However, during the
millennial kingdom, ALL nations will serve and honor Israel.
Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Jacob
had only one brother so the plural use of the word brothers must mean
brothers in a figurative sense. The nation of Israel will one day be
lord over all the other nations. Interestingly, Esau's descendants will
settle in Edom and be known as Edomites, in the land now known as
Jordan, home of Arabs and Palestinians.
Esau discovers the deception of Jacob and pleads with his father to bless him as well.
Since Isaac had already given the great blessings to Jacob, there
appears to be practically nothing left. While in today's business and
family inheritance dealings, if inheritance was received through fraud,
it can easily be retracted. Not so in the culture and customs of those days. Once the words were spoken by a leader or the patriarch of the family, the blessing could not be rescinded. Because of this deception, Esau determines to kill his brother Jacob, but not until Isaac is dead.
Rebekah
fears for Jacob's life and sends him away to Haren. This was not a
short journey. It was between 600 and 700 miles away. When Jacob left,
Esau essentially took over all that Isaac had. But as far as Esau
knew, Jacob would return shortly with a wife and claim the inheritance
and the blessings.
After Jacob left, Esau marries the daughter of Ishmael, Isaac's half-brother. Esau did this to spite his parents even more.
Jacob
stops at a place that he will later name Bethel (house of God). This
land now where Bethel is located is in the present day "West Bank" in
occupied territory where Christians and Messianic Jews are unwelcome.
What
is the significance of angels ascending and descending from heaven in
the dream that Jacob had? Does it have something to do with angels
interacting with humans now? Jesus told the disciple Nathanael that he
too would see something similar.
John 1:51
He
then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Jacob
names the place Bethel, which means house of God. It is here that God
confirms the promise that He made earlier to Abraham and He offers
this same promise to Jacob. Bethel became an important center for
worship but later became a center for idol worship, which the prophet
Hosea condemned. Isn't that just like Satan? He takes a place for
worship of God and turns it into something evil. This makes us want
to guard closely our place of worship and be careful to keep evil from
slipping in.
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