E36 Spilling the Tea on Isaac Blessing Jacob (Genesis 27) by Bible StudTea (2024)

FAQs

What does Genesis chapter 27 teach us? ›

Genesis 27 shows us that God uses evil to push forward his purpose of blessing the world, that human sin doesn't nullify God's purposes but actually succeeds in making those purposes come about. “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10) God is sovereign over sin.

When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 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.

Since Jacob was born when Isaac was 60 (see Gen. 25:20, 26) and was about 77 at the time of the birthright blessing, Isaac was about 137.

Context Summary

Genesis 27:1–29 describes how the Abrahamic family blessing came to second-born Jacob, instead of his firstborn brother, Esau. Isaac intends to give the blessing to his favored son, Esau. Rebekah commands Jacob to impersonate Esau, instead, in order to get the blessing for himself.

Thereafter, Isaac sent Jacob into Mesopotamia to take a wife of his mother's brother's house. After 20 years working for his uncle Laban, Jacob returned home. He reconciled with his twin brother Esau, then he and Esau buried their father, Isaac, in Hebron after he died at the age of 180.

Scripture testifies that the two twins, born of Rebekah, represent two opposing nations (Genesis 25:23). Jacob's descendants become known as the Israelites, while Esau's descendants are termed “Edomites” Although Esau is the older of the two, God's redemptive activity follows Jacob's line.

Historically, Jacob's blessing is of the greatest value, both because it is the only source of information for certain of the tribes in ancient times, and because it is an aid in rendering the sources (for example, Gen. 34) more intelligible.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

The Lord promised Abraham that through his descendants “shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:11).

a. And blessed him: Isaac blessed Jacob as the spiritual head of the family. Isaac had the right (not Ishmael) to pass on this blessing related to the covenant of Abraham. The son (Jacob or Esau) who received this blessing was able to pass it on to his descendants.

How old was Jacob when he died in the Bible? ›

Later in the narrative, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants, with the help of his son Joseph (who had become a confidant of the pharaoh), moved to Egypt where Jacob died at the age of 147. He is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah.

JACOB (Heb. יַעֲקֹב ,יַעֲקוֹב), younger twin son of *Isaac and *Rebekah, third of the *Patriarchs of the people of Israel. His father was 60 years old at the time of Jacob's birth, which occurred after 20 years of childless marriage (Gen. 25:20, 26).

The future of God's promise hangs in the balance of a family fraught with trouble. The LORD had made a promise to Abraham that he would bless his descendants, and that through them, the whole world would be blessed. Abraham's son Isaac was the result of that promise.

Prayer: Almighty God, you make me both to will and to do those things that are good and acceptable in your sight. Let your fatherly hand ever guide me and your Holy Spirit ever be with me to direct me in the knowledge and obedience of your Word that I may obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

These were also Isaac's wishes for his son. He prayed for 'the dew of heaven' that makes fatness of the earth possible, exemplified in 'plenty of grain and wine'. Dominion over peoples and nations could form part of well-being that is included in the abundance of harvest.

Man and woman created in the image of God implies that God has ownership over our lives and will one day justly pass eternal judgment upon us. Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

In Genesis 27, we learn that Jacob deceived his father, Isaac, in order to steal Esau's blessing. In this story, children will learn that everyone in Jacob's family sinned, but God is still able to redeem their story. Sin will divide a family, but God is able to use people in spite of their sin.

This exposition presents Rebekah's preference for Jacob as a consequence of the prophecy that she was given during her pregnancy. The partiality toward Jacob was God's choice when they were still in their mother's womb, and Rebekah merely implemented the divine plan.