Why was Esau surprised Isaac blessed Jacob.

[JohnB445]

Esau agreed to it, although I think it was wrong that Jacob didn't share the meal for free. But later he finds out the blessing was given to Jacob and was surprised. Was this some sort of scam he was trying to pull?

I hear examples of how not to be Godless like Esau, but what do they mean since how can this be replicated now?

 

[com7fy8]

Esau agreed to it, although I think it was wrong that Jacob didn't share the meal for free. But later he finds out the blessing was given to Jacob and was surprised. Was this some sort of scam he was trying to pull?

Hi, John God bless you

By the way, now we in Jesus can bless each other. So, we are not competing for some blessing, but we are more blessed in giving blessing >

"not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:9)

Esau was surprised that Jacob had taken his blessing. The blessing was not the same as his birthright which he sold to Jacob. He sold the birthright to Jacob (Genesis 25:29-34), and Jacob later tricked their father into giving Jacob Esau's blessing (Genesis 27); the despising of Esau's birthright is in Genesis chapter 25, while the tricking away of Esau's blessing is in chapter 27.

I hear examples of how not to be Godless like Esau, but what do they mean since how can this be replicated now?

Esau sold out his birthright for food. This is what the issue is. Like this, I see, we need to not sell out all we can have with God; do not give in to seeking pleasure and this world's promises of security and getting things done in our own ability with our own methods, but depend on God, no matter what, no matter how this world makes things look.

 

[Greg J.]

Jacob received the birthright from Esau. It was not transferred by Isaac, and I'm not sure Isaac even knew about it. Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac to get the blessing, Rebekah having more deceit in her heart than Jacob did. We see later that even though many years had passed since Esau sold his birthright, he was still foolish (and hence would not be the best choice for progenitor of the people God had chosen for himself). Esau probably had become accustomed to being the firstborn with the authority and power that came with it—basically the equivalent of Isaac's authority and power.

Even though they deceived Isaac, they did not deceive God who knew the birthright had been sold. However, from Esau's point of view who still thought the blessing should be his, it looked like a theft of the blessing to him. The blessing was the passing on of Isaac's spiritual inheritance from God (Genesis 27:28-29). This wasn't necessarily the mechanics of how God wanted Jacob to become the Father of the Jews, but that method was the right way to do it in the hearts of all the people involved, and therefore was real as long as God was willing to go along with it.

This was a specific tribal culture and the way they did some things might not seem right to us without actually having been immoral to them. I don't know their culture well enough to say. But that would have affected how God interacted with them. (He treats us as we treat others.) Note this was before the Law was given.