39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,

“You will live away from the richness of the earth,

and away from the dew of the heaven above.

40 You will live by your sword,

and you will serve your brother.

But when you decide to break free,

you will shake his yoke from your neck.”

41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”

42 But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45 When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

Genesis 27:39-45 (NLT)

Plot thickens

As we said yesterday, this is an ongoing family saga. You have to read all of Genesis 27 to get the context. For notes, start here and read forward. But it goes back further to the prophecy about the two boys in Genesis 25:19-26. Here the plot thickens with threats of revenge and murder.

Blessing or curse?

Isaac “used up” all his blessing on Jacob (who he thought was Esau). Esau craves even a crumb of a blessing. All Isaac has to offer is to confirm what he already blessed Jacob with – that Esau would serve him (Genesis 27:26-29) then add details – that he’d live in the wilderness. As a “consolation blessing” he says Esau will rebel against Jacob. 

Esau ended up living in the desolate area of Edom, SE of the dead sea. “The Edomites served, revolted from, and were conquered by the Israelites repeatedly during their history. This is apparently what Isaac predicted in verse 40b.” (planobiblechapel.org)

Missing faith

When Rebekah says she fears “lose both of you”, she’s probably referring to both Isaac (who is old and about to die) and Jacob (whom Esau planned to kill). It’s also possible she’s afraid if Esau kills Jacob, someone will take revenge for Jacob and kill Esau. Regardless, what is missing? Faith in the promise of God. 

Over 40 years earlier, before the boys were born, in response to her prayer, she heard directly from God that the older would serve the younger (Genesis 25:19-26). And she must know the Abrahamic covenant of descendants like the sand and all nations blessed through him. So she should know that will occur through Jacob.

God’s plan prevails

God will protect her son and give him offspring. But did she believe it? It seems by her actions in concocting the deception and now fearing for Jacob’s life that she did not. However, we know that God will work through this lack of faith to accomplish His sovereign will. Stay tuned…

RЯeflection

The past few days, we’ve encouraged you to review God’s promises. Now the question is, “Do you believe them?” Even over many years, do you still believe them? Is God faithful? Can He be trusted?