Genesis 27

AND it came to pass, that when Isaac was old About one hundred and thirty seven years old., and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see Which was ordered by Gods wise providence, not only for the exercise of Isaacs patience, but also as a means to transfer Esaus right to Iacob., he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son. And he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.

Now therefore, take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver Or, As the and Hebrew Doctors render it, thy Sword, a weapon no less necessary for an hunter of Beasts than a Bow., and thy bowe, and go out to the field, and take me some venison.

And make me favoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat Quest. Why does he require this before he bless him? Answ. 1. That being refreshed and delighted therewith his Spirit might be more chearful, and so the fitter for the giving of this prophetical benediction; for which reason also the Prophet. Eliha called for a minstrel ere he could utter his Prophesie, 2 Kings 3. 15. 2. By the special direction of Divine providence, that Esaus absence might give Iacob the advantage of getting the blessing., that my soul may bless thee He speaks not here of a common and customary blessing, which Parents may bestow upon any of their Children as and when they please, but of the last, solemn, extraordinary and prophetical benediction, whereby these holy Patriarchs did by Gods appointment and with his concurrence constitute one of their sons heir not only of their inheritance, but of Abrahams covenant and all the promises both temporal and spiritual belonging to it. As for the oracle delivered to Rebecca which transferred this blessing upon Iacob, chap. 25, 23. either Isaac knew not of it, not being sufficiently informed thereof by Rebecca; or he did not throughly understand it; or he might apprehend that it was to be accomplished not in the persons of Esau and Iacob but in their posterity; or at this time it was quite out of his mind, or he was induced to neglect it through his passionate affection to his son Esau. before I die.

And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son: and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD Solemnly as in Gods presence, in his name and by his Authority and with his leave and favour, which I shall heartily pray for thee. So he signifies that this was more than an ordinary blessing which he now intended to give him., before my death.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, according to that which I command thee.

Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence, two good Kids of the goats It is observable, that as Iacob deceived his Father by a Kid, so his Sons deceived him by the same Creature, Gen. 37. 31, 32, 33., and I will make them savoury meat Out of their most tender and delicate parts: Wherewith it was not difficult to deceive Isaac, partly because of the likeness of the flesh especially being altered by convenient sawce; and partly because the same old age which had dimmed Isaacs sight had also dulled his other senses. for thy Father, such as he loveth:

And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is an hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver I shall appear to him to be indeed a deceiver, one that abuseth his age and blindness. The particle, as sometimes signifies not the likeness, but the truth of the thing, Io... n 1. 14. 2 Corthians 3. 18., and I shall bring a curse upon me Which is due to every one that deceiveth the blind, Deut. 27. 18. especially his Father, and especially in a religious concern, Ier. 48. 10. Mal. 1. 14. such as this was., and not a blessing.

And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse She says so, out of an assured confidence in the Divine oracle and promise., my son, only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

And he went and fetched, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

And Rebekah took goodly raiment Either his sacerdotal garments which the eldest son wore in the administration of that office which belonged to him; or rather some other suit better then ordinary. of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.

And she put the skins of the Kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck Upon the two naked parts of his Body which were most likely to be discovered. As for his face, it is more than probable from his age, which was the same with Esaus, Chap. 26. 34. that nature had given him a covering like Esaus..

And she gave the savoury meat, and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

And he came unto his father, and said, My father, and he said, Here am I: who art thou, my son?

And Jacob said unto his father: I am Esau thy first-born This cannot be excused, for it was a manifest untruth, and no less is all this following relation, though it pleased God graciously to pardon it, and notwithstanding these failings to confer the blessing promised upon Iacob., I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father: and he felt him, and said, the voice is Jacobs voice, but the hands are the... ands of Esau.

And he discerned him not Because all his senses were not only dulled with age and infirmity, but also held by divine providence, as theirs Luke 24. 16. for the bringing about his own purpose: So that it is no wonder he was so grosly deceived in the whole business., because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esaus hands. So he blessed him.

And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? and he said, I am.

And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my sons venison, that my soul may bless thee: and he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

And his father Isaac said unto him, come near now, and kiss me Which he did either that he might more fully satisfie himself concerning the person; or rather as a mark of that special favour and affection wherewith he bestowed the blessing. Compare Gen. 48. 10., my son.

And he came near and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, see, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field, which the LORD has blessed Which is full of odoriferous Herbs and Flowers and Fruits, and Spices, with some of which Esaus Garments might be perfumed in the chest where they were laid, as the manner now is. These garments smell not of the sheep-cotes and stables, as Iacobs do, but of the Fields in which Esau is conversant..

Therefore, God give Or, will give. For it is both a prayer and a prophesie. thee of the dew of heaven He mentions the dew rather then the Rain, because it was of more constant use and necessity in those parts than the Rain, which fell considerably but twice in a year, the first being called the former, and the other the latter rain. And under this and the following blessings, which are but temporal, are comprehended all manner of blessings, both spiritual, temporal, and eternal, according to the usage of that time and state of the Church., and the fatness of the earth A fat and fruitful Land, which Canaan was, abounding with all sorts of pretious fruits. Compare Deut. 8. 8. and 32. 13, 14., and plenty of corn and wine.

Let people serve thee, and nations bowe down to thee: be Lord over thy brethren, and let thy mothers son bowe down to thee How and when this was fulfilled see Gen. 25. 23.? cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his Father, that Esau his Brother came in from his hunting.

And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father That Esau did not come to his Father till the meat was dressed may be ascribed partly to his own choice that he might come with more acceptance; and partly to Rebekah, who could easily hinder his coming sooner by specious pretences and artifices., and said unto his father, let my father arise and eat of his sons venison, that thy soul may bless me.

And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? and he said, I am thy son, thy first-born Esau.

And Isaac trembled very exceedingly He was filled with astonishment and horror in consideration of Iacobs fraud, and the sad disappointment and great Misery of his beloved Esau, and his own rashness and folly in suffering his fond affection towards him to carry him headlong into an opposition to the Divine Oracle, Gen. 25. 23. which now came to his remembrance, as appears by his ratification of Iacobs blessing., and said, Who! where is he A short speech proceeding from a discomposed mind. that has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed This blessing, though otherwise intended by me, and pronounced upon a mistake of the person, shall and must rest upon the head of Iacob, and I neither can nor dare undertake to revoke and contradict Gods appointment, which now I more fully discern, and in which both thou and I and all men must fully acquiesce. And now Isaac fixeth the blessing upon Iacob by faith, as it is expressed, Heb. 11. 20. which before through misguided Fancy and Affection he intended for Esau..

And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry Not for any sense of his former sin in despising his Birthright, but for grief at his great loss therein, because God would not suffer him to be perjur'd in keeping that Birthright-blessing which he had sold and sworn away., and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my Father (i. e.) Thou art my Father no less than his, and therefore as a child, I claim a share in thy blessing..

And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and has taken away thy blessing Which was thine by the right of nature and custom of Nations and by my hearty desire and intention, as well as by thy own expectation and opinion..

And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob He puts a perverse construction upon Iacobs name, as if it belonged not to him so properly because of the manner of his Birth, as because of his falseness and deceitfulness, and his tripping up his Brothers heels.? for he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my Birth-right A false Accusation; Iacob did not take it deceitfully, but Esau sold it profanely., and behold, now he has taken away my blessing: and he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee The blessing of Abraham is not at my disposal, but Gods, who has manifested his Mind and Will by my Errour; it cannot be divided into several hands, nor imparted to one, who, though my Son, yet has made himself unworthy of it., my son.

And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father By which words Esau manifests his profane and worldly mind, that he esteemed this Blessing but as one among many others equal to it, and did not apprehend the true and peculiar excellency and absolute necessity of it, and that it was impossible for him or his posterity to be happy without an interest in this covenant and continuance in that Church to which it was appropriated.? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lift up his Voice, and wept.

And Isaac his father answered, and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above In a country competently fruitful and refreshed with convenient dews and showers. Obj. Thus Esau seems to have the same blessing which was before given to Iacob. Ans. 1. Thought it may seem to be the same as to the fertility of the Soil, in which divers other parts of the World did and do equal the land of Canaan, yet there is an observable difference in the manner of Isaacs expression. When he speaks of Esau, he only says, Thy dwelling shall be the fatness, &c. But when he speaks to Iacob, he says, God give thee, or shall give thee of the fatness, &c. which words being, as it may seem, purposely omitted concerning Esau, and so emphatically expressed concerning Iacob seem to intimate, especially if compared with many other Scriptures where that phrase is applyed to good men, that Esaus fat soil was rather taken by himself then given by God, or if given by God, to him, it was only by his general providence by which he giveth food to all creatures; whereas Iacobs fat and fruitful Soil was derived to him and his by Gods special gift as a token of his singular kindness and pledge of greater blessings. 2. This is but one branch of the blessing, the other part which concerns Dignity and Sup... rity is expresly given to Iacob, ver. 29. and denied to Esau, ver. 40..

And by thy sword shalt thou live By violence and rapine, in an unquiet and military posture, troubling others, and forced to defend thy self. But this, as also the following clause, though spoken to Esau, was not fulfilled in him, but in his posterity the Edomites, whose History makes good this prophecy. Thus things spoken and promised to Abraham were fulfilled in his Posterity, as Gen. 12. 3. and 22. 18., and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion When thou shalt grow potent, some render the words thus, When thou shalt have mourned or groaned, as the same word is used, Psal. 55. 2. When thou hast oppressed as long as I think fit., that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

And Esau hated Jacob And this hatred was hereditary, extending to their Posterity also. See Ezek. 35. 5. Amos 1. 11. Obad. v. 10., because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart Within himself. Although he could not contain it there, but declared his intentions to some of his confidents, by which mea... s it came to Rebekahs ear., The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

And these words of Esau her elder Son were told to Rebekah, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son; and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, does comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran.

And tarry with him a few days So she expected and intended, but was greatly disappointed, for he tarried there twenty years. until thy brothers fury turn away;

Until thy brothers anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send and fetch thee from thence. Why should I be deprived also of you both in one day Of thee by Esaus bloody hands; and of Esau, who was likely to suffer death for his murder, either by the Authority of the Magistrate, as God commanded, Gen. 9. 6. or, by the hand of God, who oft-times supplies the Magistrates defects in that particular, and in some extraordinary manner executes this vengeance. See Gen. 4. 11, 16. Acts 28. 4.?

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth Esaus wives who were Hittites, Gen. 26. 34.; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me Therefore let us, after the Example of Abraham, send him to fetch a wife from his own Kindred. This indeed was one reason, but the other she conceals from Isaac, thus prudently alledging several reasons, one to Iacob, and another, as it is probable, to Esau, and each most sutable to the person to whom she speaks.?