A ruined partnership

 

Gen 27:28-29

“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.”

These are the blessings which Isaac spoke over Jacob, whom he believed to be Esau. He had called in his oldest son, Esau, and asked him to hunt game and prepare it for him, so that he could give him his blessing before he (Isaac) died. Rebekah overheard this conversation and took action. Jacob, obeying his mother Rebekah’s instructions, slaughtered two kids from their flock for her to prepare an appetizing meal for his father. He then put on his brother Esau’s best clothes (so that his aging father, who could not see properly, would smell Esau when he approached him) and covered his smooth hands and neck with the skins of those kids, so that he would feel as hairy as Esau to his father’s touch.

The plan worked perfectly, and Jacob received the blessings intended for Esau. This is where it gets interesting to take note of what the blessings entailed. We see from the quoted verse that Isaac had perceived that Esau would be a ruler of note, a world-class leader – he would have riches in abuncance (abundant harvests and boutiful new wine); be seen as a leader among many nations (many nations become your servants and bow down to you) as well as a national king (may your mother’s sons bow down to you); and who would also be seen as divinely protected (all who curse you will be cursed, and who bless you will be blessed).

The characters of the two brothers seem to indicate that a divine partnership had been intended for them, a ruler (Esau) making the way for a shepherd of the flock of God (Jacob) to operate, protecting him from their enemies and allowing the instructions of the Lord to be taught and followed in the land. We see other such partnerships in Israel – David and Samuel, for example.

Where did it all go wrong? Esau unfortunately chose to give in to his baser physical instincts more than honouring the moral implications of his position in the family – trading his birthright as firstborn (with all the benefits and responsibilities thereof) for a meal of bread and lentil stew in a moment of self-gratification. Given the important implications of this trade, we can assume that this was not the first of such decisions in his life thus far, it must already have been a character trait by that time.

Esau’s decisions had devastating effects on the future of his family, but also on his descendants. His generational line became known as the Amalekites and the Edomites, and it was Herod of Esau’s race that tried to destroy Jesus as an infant by having the male children of Bethelehem slain.

Pearls to ponder:

Let us be constantly aware of the inner fight between our physical and spiritual natures and refrain from making impusive decisions to gratify our flesh. In those moments, pause and ask direction and discernment from Holy Spirit before taking action. It will take dedication and lots of practice to consistently do so, for before submitting to Jesus as Lord of our life, we had been so used to selfishly only give heed to our own inner needs!

What we sow