Question about Jacob and Esau.

[UnimaginablyHappy]

Hi everyone!

I am a little confused about the story with Jacob and Esau. Jacob deceived his father Isaac by the command of Rebekah ( I thought she was supposed to be the example of a good wife???) when he brought the savory meat to him and yet Isaac continued to bless Jacob when he was giving him instructions on where to take a wife from and passed the blessing of Abraham to him even after he knew that Jacob had deceived him. Why was Jacob not condemned for deceiving his father? Was it because he obeyed the command of his mother? Your answers are greatly appreciated!

Edited to add location: Genesis Ch. 27

 

[wpage]

The Bible like life itself. Full of interesting twists and turns...

This is a example of parental intervention having significant effects.

 

[UnimaginablyHappy]

Thanks for your response wpage.

Is there not a reason why Jacob and Rebekah were not condemned? Is it because of the earlier prophesy that the "older shall serve the younger" and this was the only way the prophesy could be fulfilled?

 

[tturt]

Yes I think so. Before the twins were born, Yahweh spoke to Rebecca and said unto her,..."Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." Gen 25:23. Esau didn't seem to care about the birthright and despised it v 32 and 34 Then Gen 27:4 Isaac planned to give Esau the blessings and Rebecca remembered what she had been told by Yahweh.

One author stated it was interesting that Isaac loved Esau because of his version (the natural life) and didn't seem to be concerned with what Yahweh had said.

 

[UnimaginablyHappy]

Thanks for your replies. My grandmother sent me this link which explains it in detail.

m.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/27.html

You have to copy and paste it, I can't post links as of yet

 

[tturt]

Wondering about Rebecca's plotting because in addition to the Scripture about the elder serving the younger, we have Rom 9 states "3 "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

Also, seems like I read earlier that Jacob has another meaning besides supplanter, deceiver. ?

 

[heron]

( I thought she was supposed to be the example of a good wife???)

The Old Testament is full of stories of people who acted with a mix of weakness, selfishness, devotion, and personal growth. Preachers often make claims that these people are meant to be examples, but that is never stated within the stories. Scriptures were valued for reflection and meditation -- we could see how scams and selfishness hurt people, without getting it preached at us.

As for the story, probably most of us have had the same question.

Old Testament Hebrew - StudyLight.org

Jacob=Supplanter, heel-holder.

 

[Phaedron777]

The Bible doesn't go into too much depth either. Esau was a rotten person who founded the Edomites. They later became Rome and persecuted the Jews and Christians. To this day the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau continues.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Firstly, the impact of prayers (blessings) are powerful. After Isaac blessed Jacob, he knew that the blessings would come to pass, even though he had blessed wrongly. God who heard Isaac's blessings would answer that prayer.

Therefore, Isaac could not take back his prayers/his blessings to Jacob. Instead, all he could do for Esau was to give him another form of blessings/prayers.

This lesson of Jacob and Esau served to tell us the importance of our prayers. Our prayers can come to pass even when we are misguided in our prayers. Therefore, we ought to treasure our prayers/blessings and use them correctly.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

It is also important for you to note how precious prayers of the father are in the eyes of Jacob and Esau.

Unlike today, when we fought with our siblings for material possession of our parents, in the past, the siblings fought for their father's blessings/prayers!

Why is this so?

Because they trust in the power of God. They know that whatever their father had blessed them in the name of God, whatever it is, it will come to pass. And so they want their father's blessings more than they want any material possessions.

 

[tturt]

I think you make many good points yet I don't see where Jacob was blessed wrongly - not according to what Rebecca had been told and Jacob renamed Israel.

Their blessings were what came to pass as you said and is also shown when Jacob blessed Joseph's children. Joseph got upset because Jacob's hands were not in the order he thought they should be for the blessings. But Jacob proceeded as he intended and made the blessings and that became their destinies.

 

[papaJP]

The answer lies in God's will. He is in control and was in this instance. There are many places where God does what man cannot understand with worldly mental abilities. This is a story of God in control and only spiritually can you understand the truth.

 

[UnimaginablyHappy]

Thank you for all of your replies!
Phaedron 777,
Where did you get the information that the Edomites later became the Romans? I think that would be very helpful to by bible studying.
And heron, I really liked the website you posted! I was looking (not consciously) for a place that had the phonetic spelling so I could pronounce biblical names correctly!
And you are right about the good wife thing. It seems that that information was instilled in my head from previous churches/sermons. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[tturt]

papaJp I understand what you posted and that's the way it is with all Scripture. On the forums, most of the time, it has to be in black and white or many will not agree with what's been posted. Even in black and white sometimes, there's disagreements - as you know.