Genesis 27:1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
"Isaac had not yet come to the conclusion that Jacob was heir of the promise. The communication from the Lord to Rebekah concerning her yet unborn sons in the form in which it is handed down to us merely determines that the older shall serve the younger. This fact Isaac seems to have thought might not imply the transferrence of the birthright; and if he was aware of the transaction between Esau and Jacob, he may not have regarded it as valid. Hence, he makes arrangements for bestowing the paternal benediction on Esau, his older son, whom he also loves. 'I am old.' At the age of one hundred and thirty-six, and with failing sight, he felt that life was uncertain. In the calmness of determination he directs Esau to prepare savory meat, such as he loved, that he may have his vigor renewed and his spirits revived for the solemn business of bestowing that blessing, which he held to be fraught with more than ordinary benefits.” (Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible)
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I ama smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”
"The blessing of the firstborn in this and the following verse is solemnly pronounced by Isaac. It is irrevocable; see Genesis 27:33.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
"Rebekah forms a plan for diverting the blessing from Esau to Jacob. She was within hearing when the infirm Isaac gave his orders, and communicates the news to Jacob. Rebekah has no scruples about primogeniture. Her feelings prompt her to take measures, without waiting to consider whether they are justifiable or not, for securing to Jacob that blessing which she has settled in her own mind to be destined for him. She thinks it necessary to interfere that this end may not fail of being accomplished. Jacob views the matter more coolly, and starts a difficulty. He may be found out to be a deceiver, and bring his father‘s curse upon him. Rebekah, anticipating no such issue; undertakes to bear the curse that she conceived would never come. Only let him obey.” (Albert Barnes Notes)
14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” 21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you arereally my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”
This narrative "exhibits a most humbling picture of sensuality, deceit, and cunning; and when one thinks of such things in connection with the people of God, it is sad and painful to the very last degree… And, be it remembered, that in setting before us, in faithful love, all the traits of man's character, it is simply with a view to magnify the riches of divine grace, and to admonish our souls. It is not, by any means, in order to perpetuate the memory of sins, forever blotted out from His sight. The blots, the failures, and the errors of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have been perfectly washed away, and they have taken their place amid 'the spirits of just men made perfect;' but their history remains, on the page of inspiration, for the display of God's grace, and for the warning of God's people in all ages; And, moreover, that we my distinctly see that the blessed God has not been dealing with perfect men and women, but with those of 'like passions as we are' that He has been walking and bearing with the same failures, the same infirmities, the same errors, as those over which we mourn every day. This is peculiarly comforting to the heart; and it may well stand in striking contrast with the way in which the great majority of human biographies are written, in 'which, for the most part, we find, not the history of men, but of beings devoid of error and infirmity.' Histories have rather the effect of discouraging than of edifying those who read them. They are rather histories of what men ought to be, than of what they really are, and they are, therefore, useless to us, yea, not only useless, but mischievous.” (C H Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
“Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!”
Yahweh God brought about the blessing of the firstborn on the youngest, as a pattern for the church. It would have been uplifting to see how it played out if Rebekah had not interfered, but this is all we know. "Three things Jacob is here blessed with, 1st, Plenty, (Gen 27:28,) heaven and earth concurring to make him rich. 2d, Power, (Gen 27:29,) particularly dominion over his brethren, namely, Esau and his posterity. 3d, Prevalency with God, and a great interest in heaven, 'Cursed be every one that curseth thee' — Let God be a friend to all thy friends, and an enemy to all thine enemies… Let nations bow down to thee — When the Canaanites were subdued in the times of Joshua and the judges, and made tributary to the Israelites; and more especially when the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites became subject to them, in the time of David..." (Benson) And perhaps it received much fulfillment when the three kings came in bowed down to worship Jesus. "... this prophecy was fulfilled; but, like many other prophecies, it shall receive its principal accomplishment in the latter days of the Messiah’s kingdom, when he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; when all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations serve him, Psalm 72:8; Psalm 72:11.” (Benson Commentary)
"Salvation belongs to Yahweh: your blessing is upon your people." (Ps 3:8)
Genesis 27:30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
The birthright belonged to Jacob before birth. So, Jacob did not steal it from Esau, as he alleged. Esau sold it to him, having no regard for it. And here, there is no repentance towards God. "On this incident the writer to the Hebrews founds the impressive lesson, that ... when he afterward desired to inherit blessing he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears (Heb 12:16-17).” (F. B. Meyers)
"When Esau understood that Jacob had got the blessing, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. The day is coming, when those that now make light of the blessings of the covenant, and sell their title to spiritual blessings for that which is of no value, will, in vain, ask urgently for them.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.
"This agrees with part of the blessing of Jacob, only the clauses are inverted, and no mention made of corn and wine; the land of Edom not being so fat and fruitful as the land of Canaan.” (Gill Exposition) Esau would have the same blessing with Jacob, and so would have no occasion of complaint or grief, or to have hate his brother and seek his life. Having the right of the firstborn, Jacob would have a double portion, but both would have plenty, if they sought it with repentance and faith.
40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
"Esau would be under Jacob, but not forever. The promise also was that Esau would break his yoke from your neck.” (Guzik) "Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (2 Kings 8:20; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10).”(Jamieson- Fausset-Brown Commentary)
“'When the sons of Jacob,' says the Jerusalem Targum here, 'attend to the law, and observe the precepts, they shall impose a yoke of servitude upon thy neck; but when they shall turn away themselves from studying the law, and neglect the precepts, behold, then thou shalt shake off the yoke of servitude.' This is no bad exposition of the passage: for it was David who brought the Edomites under the yoke, and in his time the Jews in a great degree observed the law. But in the reign of Jehoram, when they were very corrupt, 'the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, making themselves a king,' 2 Chronicles 21:8; 2 Chronicles 21:10. We may observe here, although Esau obtained a blessing, it was far short of Jacob’s. There is nothing in it that points at Christ, nothing that brings either Esau or his posterity into the Church of God, and without that, 'the fatness of the earth' and the plunder of the field will stand him in little stead. Thus Isaac, by faith, blessed them both according as their lot should be. And surely the exact accomplishment of these prophetic declarations, which were fulfilled many hundreds of years after the death of Moses who recorded them, must, if properly considered, give us a high idea of the Holy Scriptures, and convince us that they are truly the words of that BEING who knoweth the end from the beginning.” (Benson Commentary)
Jacob was to have the right of the firstborn, but it was God’s desire that Esau repent and inherit the Kingdom, as well. “FIRSTBORN— Term used in the Bible to describe a family's oldest son or daughter (Gn 22:21; 29:26). Israel was called God's firstborn because of that nation's miraculous beginning and special deliverance out of Egypt (Gn 17:5, 15- 16; Ex 4:22). As God's firstborn, Israel had unique privileges over all other nations. Gentiles were ‘blessed' only in relation to their kindness to Israel (Gn 12:3; Ex 19:6; Dt 4:5- 8). The prophet Isaiah foresaw a day when Israel would have a double portion of inheritance (Is 61:7). Thus, being firstborn implies priority or preeminence, as well as an inheritance.
The expression 'first- born of the poor,' (Is 14:30, RSV) means one who is supremely poor, the poorest of the poor. Another figurative expression, 'first- born of death' (Jb 18:13, RSV), implied that Job's disease was fatal.
Because God delivered Israel's firstborn sons from death in Egypt, he expected each firstborn to be sanctified to him (Ex 11:4- 7; 13:12). The first male child was a representative of the entire offspring (Gn 49:3; Ex 22:29; Nm 3:13). The firstborn of all animals used in sacrifice was to be sanctified to the Lord (Ex 13:2, 15).
The firstborn of every tribe except Levi's was to be redeemed by a sum not to exceed five shekels (Nm 18:15- 16). Redemption implied a previous bondage and was to remind Israel of their redemption from bondage in Egypt (Ex 13:2- 8).
The firstborn of ritually clean animals was devoted to the Lord. It was brought to the tabernacle (or later, the temple) within a year from the eighth day after birth. This animal was then sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the altar. The meat of the sacrificed animal was for the priests (Ex 13:13; 22:30; cf. Nm 18:17). The firstborn of unclean animals could be redeemed with an addition of one- fifth of the value as determined by the priest. If not redeemed, these animals were sold, exchanged, or destroyed by the priests (Lv 27:27). The colt of an ass was to be redeemed with a lamb (Ex 13:13). If not redeemed, it was to be killed. Meat from unclean animals was not eaten.
The firstborn acted as priest of the family in the father's absence or death. Esau and Reuben are both examples (Gn 27:19, 32; 1 Chr 5:1- 2). This position of the firstborn ceased when the priesthood was committed to Levi's tribe (Nm 3:12- 13). All the firstborn of succeeding generations had to be redeemed. The redemption money became part of the Levites 'yearly income (8:17; 18:16).
A double portion of the family inheritance was the right of the firstborn. This protected the firstborn when there was a polygamous marriage. The son of a favorite wife could not take the place of the first son born of the household (Dt 21:17).
The title ‘firstborn' is applied to Christ (Lk 2:7; Rom 8:29; Col 1:15, 18; Heb 1:6; Rv 1:5). It stresses Christ's preeminence over all because he was the first to rise from the dead. As firstborn, Christ is heir of all things (Heb 1:2) and the head of the church (Eph 1:20- 23; Col 1:18, 24; Heb 2:10- 12).” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)
Genesis 27:41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Though in the end it was only the completion of a fair exchange of a pot of red lentils for the birthright, Esau vowed revenge. “Esau says in his heart, 'Isaac my father is on the point of death: no sooner shall he die, than I will take revenge. Even while the customary mourning is going on, I will slay Jacob.’ Before seven days have elapsed (cf. Genesis 50:3) he will have had his revenge...” (Cambridge Bible Schools and Colleges)
Esau hated Jacob and plotted his murder in his heart. Thus, “Esau… went in the way of Cain, who slew his brother...” (Matthew Henry) Likewise, we are told to meditate on the Book of the Law (Pentateuch) day and night that we may observe to do all that is written in it. (Josh 1:8) Spurgeon tells of a common man who meditates on the Commands or Mitzvahs and finally cries: "Sir, I thought me no kill—me innocent there; but when I heard that he that hates his brother is a murderer, then me cry guilty, for me have killed twenty men before breakfast very often, for I have been angry with many of them very often." Spurgeon concludes: "This Law does not only mean what it says in words, but it has deep things hidden in its bowels."
42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
As if often the case with human nature, evil escapes the heart in the form of words. And as is often the case in the divine narratives of the Bible, thus warning came to the one under the providential care of Yahweh. And stay with him for a few days… "The few days… will turn out to be more than 20 years. Yet, God will fulfill His purpose in all of it.” (David Guzik)
"'For why should I lose you both in one day?' viz., Jacob through Esau's vengeance, and Esau as a murderer by the avenger of blood (Genesis 9:6, cf. 2 Samuel 14:6-7).”(Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)
"AVENGER OF BLOOD— Person who performed the duty of pursuing and ultimately executing the murderer of a close relative (Nm 35). Such a ‘redeemer' was expected to act in instances of deliberate murder but not of accidental manslaughter. A person guilty of manslaughter could find asylum in any one of six designated cities throughout the land (35:11) so that regular judicial processes could be set in motion. The avenger of blood can be seen in the accounts of Gideon (Jgs 8:18- 21), Joab (2 Sm 3:27, 30), the Gibeonites (2 Sm 21), and Amaziah (2 Kgs 14:5- 6). During the monarchy the king could evidently thwart the avenger (2 Sm 14:8- 11).
The custom was rooted in the ordinance of God that required a life for a life in any case of intentional homicide (Gn 9:6). Unfortunately, the intent of the law-- to impress upon humanity the sacredness of human life-- has sometimes been greatly distorted, leading to blood feuds and the annihilation of whole families in some societies.” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)
Rebecca was still practicing deceit and paid dearly for it. She convinced Isaac that Jacob needed to go to the land of her people to find a wife. Thus, she "successfully maneuvered Isaac into telling Jacob to leave. 'Rebekah’s diplomatic victory was complete; but she would never see her son again.'"(Kidner) (David Guzik)… perhaps the price for trickery.