21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren ; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb ; And two peoples will be separated from your body ; And one people shall be stronger than the other ; And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment ; and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob ;(Genesis 25:21-26 NASB)
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn ; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son ?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me.” … he blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed ; 28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine ; 29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”
30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father ; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled violently , and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father !” 35 And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times ? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants ; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son ?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father ? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. 40 “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve ; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.” 41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near ; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban ! 44 “Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him.
10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set ; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven ; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac ; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south ; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land ; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place ! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel ; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God. 22 “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (Genesis 28:10-22 NASB)
What can we say about Jacob, Isaac’s second born son? He’s not exactly the kind of guy who is a good role model, that’s for sure. He steals from his brother, he tricks his father. Now he is running away, because his brother is so angry at him that he wants to kill him. You can’t really blame him either. Jacob just took everything away from Esau, everything that mattered to him anyway.
It seems a pretty odd moment for God to appear to him and say, “I am with you, I will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land ; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Do you think Jacob deserved God’s blessing?
Jacob has just received the same promise from God that Abraham did. He is obviously God’s choice for his plan to continue. Once again, God is choosing unlikely people, younger, weaker brothers, cheaters and liars and thieves, who aren’t exactly special, to promise amazing things to, to show himself to, and to bless.
Why do you think that is?
It appears God doesn’t choose people based on who is the most good, or pretty, or strong. He can use anyone it seems. They just have to say yes.
But something happens to Jacob after this meeting with God. He starts to change. God takes care of him as He promised, and Jacob also learns to trust God, and becomes a different kind of man by the end.
Day 5 – Isaac, The Miracle Child
Day 7 – How God Redeems