This Way To Genesis

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Genesis 25:27c-28


● Gen 25:27c . . who stayed in camp.

Does that mean Jacob never ventured outdoors? No. After all, his family was
pastoral; they lived in tents and spent their whole lives working outdoors.
Staying in camp only means Jacob would rather come on home when the
day was over, take a hot shower, eat dinner with his family, brush his teeth,
and sleep between clean sheets rather than needing a bath out under the
stars on the ground with creepy-crawlies.

Esau wasn't dependable; and probably off away from home on one safari
after another. But Jacob was always nearby, ready to lend a hand with the
chores, shear the sheep, mend the fences, and help his mom get in a load of
wood and water. He was like the ranchers in the movie Shane-- hard
working and dependable --very unlike his wild and wooly brother who very
likely scorned animal husbandry and thought of it as a life for losers.

Jacob was a lot like his mom Rebecca. Although she too came from a family
with servants, it wasn't below her to bring in the evening water when it was
time. Jacob could have kicked back and lived the life of a spoiled rich kid and
never lifted a finger to help out around the ranch, leaving it all up to the
servants. But he didn't do that. No. Jacob was a working rancher: he pitched
in wherever he could because it was his nature to make himself useful and
productive.

● Gen 25:28a . . Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game;

The Hebrew word for "favored" is from 'ahab (aw-hab') or possibly 'aheb
(aw-habe') which mean: to have affection for.

Family counselors will tell you that favoritism is harmful: and who from a
large family doesn't already know that. But nevertheless it's just about near
impossible to prevent favoritism. People are only human after all.

Up to this point, Esau seems an okay kind of guy. No really serious faults are
readily apparent. And he seems affable enough. On the pages of Old
Testament Scripture, he isn't said to be a friendless loner, or an angry
sociopath; nor into bad habits like drinking, gambling, murder, robbery, lies,
laziness, fighting, disrespect for his parents, blasphemy, selfishness, foul
language, or anything else like that. The only apparent difference between
Esau and Jacob-- up to this point --is Esau's preference for roaming the
great outdoors instead of putting in a day's work around the ranch. Jewish
folklore lays some pretty heavy sins upon Esau. but none of them are listed
here in chapter 25.

For now, neither Isaac nor Rebecca have voiced any gripes against either
one of their boys. Isaac does favor Esau more, but only because of the
venison that he prepared for his dad on occasion-- which of course would
appeal to Isaac because it was wild game rather than the meat of domestic
animals. Guys sometimes feel more manly when they eat meat taken in
hunting rather than from a local super market. Isaac is one of those men for
whom this proverb rings true: The way to a man's heart is through this
stomach.

● Gen 25:28b . . but Rebecca favored Jacob.

Well, that's understandable. Jacob was religious, temperate, conscientious,
and helpful: attributes Rebecca would certainly value; whereas Esau was
secular, out hunting, and saw no value in his dad's religion whatsoever (Heb
12:15-17). And Jacob was very likely home a whole lot more than Esau; and
made good company too. Guys like Esau tend to be center-of-attention
addicts; and eclipse everyone else in the room to the point where you get
the feeling they believe themselves the only ones in the whole wide world
that count and the only justification for your existence is to be their
audience.

Rebecca was a no-nonsense kind of girl. I think she was very impressed by
Abraham's chief steward because he was serious about his business and got
right to it with no fooling around; plus he was a man of prayer too. I think
all of that had a great deal of influence on Rebecca's decision to leave home
with him.

I suspect Rebecca saw that very same kind of character in Jacob; and it had
more appeal to her than the swash buckling, great white hunter attitude that
compelled Esau to go off on safari so often. Not that an adventurer's nature
is bad or anything like that. But Rebecca preferred the company of
disciplined, level headed, temperate men who take care of their families and
put them first. The kind who take their responsibilities seriously and don't
shirk.

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Genesis 25:29-31


● Gen 25:29 . . Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in
from the open, famished.

I guess Esau never heard of the Boy Scouts' motto: Be prepared. Well . .
next time, maybe he'll be a little more careful to fill his ALICE pack with
some LRRP rations before going out in the boonies.

The word for "stew" is from naziyd (naw-zeed') which means: something
boiled, e.g. soup. According to Gen 25:34, one of the ingredients in Jacob's
soup was lentils: a type of flat, round seed related to the pea and is eaten as
a vegetable.

● Gen 25:30a . . And Esau said to Jacob: Give me some of that red
stuff to gulp down, for I am famished

The word for "red" (stuff) is from 'adom (aw-dome') which means: rosy.

● Gen 25:30b . . which is why he was named Edom.

Edom is from 'Edom (ed-ome') or possibly 'Edowm (ed-ome') which mean:
red. 'Edom and 'Edowm are derived from 'adom; the word for rosy.

I actually knew a man when I was a kid whose nick-name was Rose; and
who hasn't heard of the pro footballer Rosey Grier?

● Gen 25:31 . . Jacob said: First sell me your birthright.

The birthright consists of two distinct components. One is material, and the
other is spiritual. If Israel's covenanted law can be used as a guideline in this
instance, then the holder of the birthright (which is transferable) is entitled
to twice the amount of material inheritance given to his siblings. (Deut
21:15-17)

But Jacob isn't asking for Esau's material birthright; it's the spiritual one that
he's after. Jacob wanted very much to be the family's next patriarch; and no
doubt Rebecca wanted him too.

The position of patriarch carries heavy responsibilities. If Esau was to rule
over the family, then he would be responsible to provide for them both
materially and spiritually. Abraham was a very successful patriarch in both
respects, but most especially in the spiritual.

It was the patriarch's duty to build, and officiate at, the family's altar; just
as Abraham had done all those years (cf. Job 1:5). It was also the
patriarch's duty to dispense the knowledge God and make sure it was carried
forward in the family so as to prevent its loss to future generations (cf. Gen
18:19). I think what Jacob was really after was the inspiration that came
with being the spiritual patriarch. (cf. Gen 20:7)

As far as Esau was concerned, the material aspect of his birthright was all
that mattered. He was totally secular and cared nothing at all for his spiritual
birthright. On the other hand, Jacob dearly longed for the spiritual aspect—
the material part being only incidental. No doubt the two brothers had
discussed these very things over the years so that Jacob already knew
exactly how Esau felt about it. So that, half in jest, and probably half in
disgust, he proposed that Esau barter his spiritual birthright for food.

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Genesis 25:32-34


● Gen 25:32-33 . . And Esau said: I am at the point of death, so of
what use is my birthright to me? But Jacob said: Swear to me first.
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

It just amazes me how much faith the people of long ago put in oaths.
Nowadays nobody trusts an oath. You've got to sign your name on the
dotted line, preferably with a witness and/or a notary, because it would be
totally foolish to take anybody's word on anything; even if they swore to it.

Even if Isaac now gave the birthright to Esau, which he fully intended to do,
at least Jacob had the assurance that his brother wouldn't retain the spiritual
aspect. Isaac would never interfere with a contract between the two brothers
sealed by an oath. He would have to honor it. The spiritual birthright would
now go to Jacob, which, according to Gen 25:23, is exactly what the
supreme paterfamilias of Abraham's clan mandated in the first place.

● Gen 25:34 . . Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate
and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the
birthright.

Had Esau politely waived the birthright, that probably would've been okay
with God, and no hard feelings about it: after all; not everyone is cut out to
be a spiritual guru. But to merchandise something sacred to God was an
insult that must have cut Him deeply.

Ironically, the birthright wasn't Esau's to sell in the first place since God pre
destined it to Jacob before the boys were born (Rom 9:11-12). I can't help
but wonder what happened to the information that God passed on to
Rebecca back when. Did she keep it under her hat all those years? If so;
why?

Jacob and Rebecca no doubt both appreciated their association with Isaac,
and were grateful Yhvh was their god. But did Esau did appreciate it? No, he
didn't; nor did he see any advantage to it. He was truly a secular man: an
earthly dude through and through. He wasn't a heavenly man in any sense
of the word; no, far from it.

"A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually appraised." (1 Cor 2:14)

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Genesis 26:1-4


● Gen 26:1a . .There was a famine in the land-- aside from the
previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham

That previous famine occurred in chapter 12 before Isaac was born; even
before Ishmael was born. So many good, prosperous years have gone by
since the last famine. This may in fact have been the very first famine that
Isaac ever witnessed, and probably his last too.

The Hebrew word for "famine" is from ra' ab (raw-awb') which means:
hunger (more or less extensive)

People go hungry either because they can't buy the foods they need, or can't
grow it for lack of soil or water. In Isaac's case it was probably a lack of
water that made the difference. He had lots of money. But cattle can't live
on legal tender. Down in the lowlands there would very likely be plenty of
water in wells and springs that could be used for irrigation. So it's off to the
lowlands they go; herds and all.

● Gen 26:1b . . and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines,
in Gerar.

This was very likely another Abimelech-- not the same man in chapter 20
whom Abraham knew. That Abimelech was very likely dead by now. The
name "Abimelech" is more like a title than a moniker; sort of like Czar,
Pharaoh, or Caesar.

Gerar hasn't been fully identified, but the site might be in one of the
branches of Wady Sheri'a, at a place called Um Jerrar, near the coast
southwest of Gaza and 9 miles from it. The site answers fairly well to the
statements of Eusebius and Jerome, that it was 25 (Roman) miles south of
Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin). It's actually 30 English miles, but distances
weren't very accurately determined in early times. Gerar was known in the
first 5th century CE, when it was the seat of a bishopric; and its bishop,
Marcian, attended the Council of Chalcedon 451 CE.

According to ERETZ Magazine, issue 64, Abimelech's land is an ample valley
with fertile land and numerous springs; a perfect place for a man with cattle
to weather out the drought.

Isaac's decision to investigate the possibility of living amongst Abimelech's
people was quite possibly influenced by Abraham's pact with them back in
chapter 20. Hopefully they would be inclined to honor his dad's relationship
with the previous Abimelech and let Isaac's community live down there at
least until it started raining again up in the highlands.

● Gen 26:2a . .The Lord had appeared to him

This is the very first recorded incident where God appeared especially for
Isaac. When he was offered as a burnt offering back in chapter 22, God
appeared to his dad while Isaac was with him. But God was not said to
appear to Isaac. This is the first time.

You know, probably nobody alive today will ever be honored by a divine
close encounter of a third kind. We will live out our pathetically boring little
lives always never quite sure if maybe we were hoodwinked-- hoping against
hope that the Bible is true. And wouldn't the joke be on us if it isn't? What a
bunch of gullible morons Christians would be if there is no Bible's God after
all.

● Gen 26:2b . . and said: Do not go down to Egypt;

Isaac may have been considering Egypt as plan B if Gerar didn't work out.

● Gen 26:2c . . stay in the land which I point out to you.

That had to be encouraging. Even if things looked bad in Gerar when Isaac
arrived, he could rest upon the fact that he was going in the right direction.

● Gen 26:3a . . Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless
you;

Suppose it turned out Isaac didn't like the land God selected for him and
moved to another one? Well he could just forget about the promise: "I will
be with you and bless you" That promise was conditional. He had to live
where God directed him to live.

● Gen 26:3b-4 . . I will assign all these lands to you and to your
heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will
make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to
your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall
bless themselves by your heirs--

Although some translations render the word "heirs" plural, the word zera' is
one of those Hebrew words that can just as accurately be translated in the
singular as well the plural: like the words sheep, fish, and deer. In this case,
it's probably best to understand zera' in the singular because it most
certainly refers to Jacob rather than to both he and his brother Esau.

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Genesis 26:5


● Gen 26:5 . . inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge:
My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.

Some construe God's statement to indicate that Abraham was included in
the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with God as per Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. But the statement below excludes
him.

"The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our
forefathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, we, all of whom
are here alive today." (Deut 5:2-3)

Were Abraham included in the Jews' covenant; God would have placed
Himself in a serious dilemma.

The problem is: Abraham was married to a half sister (Gen 20:12)

The covenant prohibits marrying, and/or sleeping with, one's half sister. (Lev
18:9, Lev 20:17)

Under the terms and conditions of the Jews' covenant; men who sleep with
their sisters are cursed the moment they do so because "cursed be he" is
grammatically present tense; no delay and no waiting period; viz: the curse
is immediate.

"Cursed be he who lies with his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's
daughter." (Deut 27:22)

Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah, to fulfill them.
(Deut 27:26)

Well; were God to slam Abraham with a curse for sleeping with his sister,
then God would be obligated to slam Himself with a curse in return.

"The one who curses you I will curse" (Gen 12:3)

Abraham enjoyed quite an advantage. He had a certain kind of immunity. In
other words, seeing as how Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
were instituted long after Abraham passed away; then none of the curses
listed at Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69 applied to him.

Abraham complied with God's requirements; His commands, His decrees and
His laws voluntarily rather than by compulsion because he wasn't in a
covenant with God that demanded him to do so like his posterity would be in
the days of Moses. (Deut 5:2-3)

The promises God made to Abraham as per Gen 12:2-3 and Gen 17:8 were
not sustained by Abraham's piety. In other words: once God made those
promises, neither Abraham nor his posterity can ever lose them because
they are unconditional

"The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant
previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the
inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has
granted it to Abraham by means of a promise." (Gal 3:17-18)

The "promise" in question reads like this:

"And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings,
the entire land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them
for a god." (Gen 17:8)

That should be really good news to Abraham's posterity because although
the law has a marked effect upon their occupation of the land, it has no
effect upon their entitlement to it.

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Genesis 26:6-14a


● Gen 26:6 . . So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of the place
asked him about his wife, he said "She is my sister" for he was
afraid to say "my wife" thinking: The men of the place might kill me
on account of Rebecca, for she is beautiful.

NOTE: The thing about human beauty is that it's subjective, i.e. only
humans can appreciate it. A big ape like King Kong would not be attracted to
a cute blonde girl because his chemistry isn't mixed right. For example;
meerkat boys no doubt think that meerkat girls are sexy little hotties. But I
seriously doubt that meerkat boys feel the same way about human girls.

The Hebrew word for "sister" is 'achowth (aw-khoth') and has very wide
application. It can mean an actual biological sister of the same parents as
the brother, or it can just mean female kin, either near or far. I'm guessing
that Isaac and Rebecca were far enough apart in age that she could easily
pass for his niece.

'achowth is very much like the New Testament Greek word suggenes
(soong-ghen ace'). For example Luke 1:36, "Even Elizabeth your cousin is
going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in
her sixth month." The word "cousin" is an arbitrary choice of words.
Suggenes could just as easily been translated "aunt", or just simply "kin"
and/or "relative" and/or "sister".

NOTE: Translating suggenes as "cousin" in Mary and Elizabeth's case is
appropriate seeing as how both women were biologically related to Leah via
Judah and Levi.

Suggenes and 'achowth are ambiguous words, and unless there is some
additional clarification in the surrounding text, it is just about impossible to
know precisely in what manner the female kin is related; for example in Gen
24:59-60, Rebeca's family called her a sister.

Isaac's response was semantic double-speak. In other words: he didn't tell
an outright bald face lie; what he said was true; from a certain point of
view-- he and Rebecca were related. But nevertheless, his response was a
half truth meant to deceive.

I just have to wonder sometimes about the IQ of some of the patriarchs.
God had just reaffirmed Abraham's covenant with Isaac; guaranteeing He
would bless him on account of his father Abraham's righteousness (not
Isaac's righteousness). Yet now he's worried about being murdered in Gerar?
I'd hate to think that Isaac didn't believe God. I'd much rather reckon he
wasn't paying attention.

● Gen 26:8 . . When some time had passed, Abimelech king of the
Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac sporting with his
wife Rebecca.

Sporting with one's wife is far and away different than sporting with one's
sister. The way those two were horsing around was unmistakably the
behavior of lovers.

● Gen 26:9-10 . . Abimelech sent for Isaac and said: So she is your
wife! Why then did you say "She is my sister". Isaac said to him:
Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her. Abimelech
said: What have you done to us! One of the people might have lain
with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

I'm not surprised that Abimelech was frightened. It hadn't been all that long
ago when his predecessor had a run-in with Isaac's god, That incident
involving Abraham undoubtedly went down in the castle records.

And to top it off, out there grazing on Gerar pastures was a special breed of
sheep that bore a witness for Abraham too (Gen 21:27-32) and their story
was very likely woven into Gerar folklore. Oh yes. They knew about Yhvh
alright; and they all knew what could happen to them if any of the local men
messed around with Rebecca, the wife of Abraham's son.

● Gen 26:11 . . Abimelech then charged all the people, saying:
Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall be put to death.

It is most encouraging to note that God is disposed to protect his own from
the perils they bring upon themselves by the stupid blunders of their own
self reliance. That's a tremendous advantage to have in life.

The Hebrew word for "molest" is from naga' (naw-gah') which means: to
touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a
woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently,
to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)

NOTE: A popular euphemism in our day relative to men and women is so
and so are "sleeping together" which means of course that they do naughtier
stuff than merely slumber.

So Abimelech was not just talking about sexual molesting; but mandated
that his people not even so much as lay a finger upon Isaac and Rebecca in
any way at all. Isaac, of course, is getting by on his dad's influence. But
what the hey, it doesn't hurt to be connected.

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Genesis 26:12-14a


● Gen 26:12-14a . . Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a
hundredfold the same year. The Lord blessed him, and the man grew
richer and richer until he was very wealthy: he acquired flocks and
herds, and a large household,

Quite a bit of the land down around Gerar was public, sort of like our own
American frontier in the days of Lewis and Clark; and was up for grabs by
whoever had the wherewithal and the moxie to take it. In fact, the
Philistines really weren't even a country of their own at this time, but more
like a colony clinging to the sea coast of Palestine, with the majority of them
still living on the isle of Crete. They would migrate and settle en masse
centuries later.

Farming may seem like a switch from animal husbandry, but the
combination was common among pastoral peoples those days for two good
reasons. For one; Isaac's herds needed pasture. And two; man can't live on
meat alone; he needs fruits and vegetables too.

And Isaac needed bushels and bushels of those items to feed his immense
community. He inherited at least a thousand people from his dad. By now,
those have multiplied well beyond that. I think if you'd have encountered
Isaac's outfit in those days it would have resembled an Iowa town rather
than a simple camp of Bedouins.

Rates of increase varied from thirty to a hundred (cf. Matt 13:8, Matt
19:29). Sixtyfold is very good, and wasn't unusual in Palestine back in those
days. A hundredfold was rare, and occurred only in spots of extraordinary
fertility.

The region of Babylonia, however, yielded two-hundred and even three
hundredfold, according to Herodotus (I.193) and all without genetically
modified seeds. Just exactly what those fold numbers indicate is uncertain.
Perhaps they were similar to a modern term relative to bushels per acre.

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Genesis 26:14b-20


● Gen 26:14b . . so that the Philistines envied him.

Some feel that the Philistines' envy was rooted in anti-Semitism. Well . . .
there are always those seeking to enhance their own image as a victim; and
this chapter would certainly seem a good source of propaganda for that
purpose.

Envy is a normal human emotion that is typically blind to racial and ethnic
identities. Envy isn't restricted to anti-Semitism, nor does it serve to identify
it. Envy is a powerful passion; destroying friendships, fueling fierce rivalries,
generating strong desires for revenge, and fracturing solidarity.

NOTE: Madison Avenue typically combines envy with gloating; which
Webster's defines as to show in an improper or selfish way that you are
happy with your own success or another person's failure. Whenever
someone's goods and/or services in an ad are superior to others, there's
usually no sympathy shown by the one with the superior stuff; only gloating
over those less fortunate with no concern at all for their feelings. Thus
advertisers encourage consumer rivalry and smug satisfaction. It's very
common in TV ads.

Just watch the ads on TV, and the ones in magazines and you'll see. They
constantly provoke us to keep up with our peers in clothing, cars, physical
appearance, business success, and popularity. Envy is a powerful, negative
feeling that overwhelms us whenever others are doing better than ourselves.

● Gen 26:15 . . And the Philistines stopped up all the wells which his
father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling
them with earth.

You would think the Philistines would value those wells and put the water to
use for themselves. But actually, there weren't really all that many
Philistines in the Gerar area at the time. They didn't need the water; and
they sure didn't want any squatters to discover the wells and thus be
encouraged to settle down in their region.

Abimelech forbade his citizens to harm Isaac; but that didn't preclude
harassing and annoying him. Cutting off his water supplies was very serious
because Isaac needed them to irrigate crops and water the livestock.
Without adequate water supplies, Isaac Enterprises was doomed. He had a
right to file a complaint. But Abimelech felt it best for all concerned to run
Isaac out of the country.

NOTE: I've a suspicion that the rural Philistines had become territorial;
which can be roughly defined as an assumed property right due to long-time
occupation; whether legal or otherwise. In other words; Isaac's rivals
probably felt that although they didn't actually own the countryside, they
had been there longer than Isaac so they had a preemptive right to dictate
its use. It's a Neanderthal's way of thinking, but goes on all the time;
commonly in work places where senior employees are inclined to dominate
new hires.

● Gen 26:16 . . And Abimelech said to Isaac: Go away from us, for
you have become far too big for us.

Just exactly what Abimelech meant by "far too big for us" is hard to know for
sure. But it looks suspiciously like a cowardly act of favoritism; pure and
simple. Instead of being fair and equitable with Isaac, Abimelech, like a
cheap politician, ignored the vandalism his citizens had done against Isaac
and made it look like this whole nasty business was his fault; vz: he was just
getting too greedy and beginning to crowd everybody else out.

Was this maybe the first antitrust suit in history? Antitrust laws, in reality,
put a limit on prosperity. They say that the principles of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness are okay as long as you don't pursue them to an
extreme. People often believe in a free enterprise system; but typically only
up until somebody else's enterprise is having much better success at it than
theirs.

● Gen 26:17 . . So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the
wadi of Gerar, where he settled.

A wadi named Nahal Gerar is on modern maps of the Gaza region. Whether
or not that was Isaac's wadi I don't know. Wadis are basins in which brooks
flow, and therefore, were the well-watered and fertile parts of the country.
In times of scant rain up in the highlands, the brooks in many wadis dry up,
and then it becomes necessary to dig wells down into the subterranean
water table.

According to ERETZ magazine, issue 64, the Gerar river draws its waters
from tributaries that run along the slopes of the rain-swept Hebron
mountains. Enormous amounts of water flow through it in winter, flooding
the channel an average of seven times a year.

● Gen 26:18 . . Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the
days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up
after Abraham's death; and he gave them the same names that his
father had given them.

Those wells were dug nearly a hundred years prior to this event; and makes
one wonder how Isaac knew where they were and how he knew the names
his dad had named them. The Gerarians probably waited until Abraham was
dead to plug them up because they feared him. He had a reputation as a
military leader and he also had a pact with the king Abimelech of Abraham's
period.

● Gen 26:19-20 . . But when Isaac's servants, digging in the wadi,
found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled
with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: The water is ours. He named that
well Esek, because they contended with him.

Isaac was much too affable. He didn't have to let those guys buffalo him;
after all, Isaac had a pretty good sized army of his own; left to him by his
dad. He could easily have posted an armed platoon by the well to keep the
local cowboys away from it. But no, he chose rather to condescend and let
them have their own way. Isaac was truly a "turn the other cheek" kind of
guy who was willing (maybe a bit too willing) to bend over backward to
accommodate people and prevent violence and ill will.

Esek was a new well; not one of Abraham's. The herdsmen were motivated
by envy so they were reluctant to share the regions resources with the likes
of Isaac because they hated his success. They didn't contest Isaac's access
to the water in Abraham's wells. They probably felt he had a right to use
those; but the men would not tolerate Isaac taking any more water than
that; and most especially water of this quality. It was literally living water--
viz: artesian.

Urban dwellers really don't appreciate their water and typically haven't a
clue where it comes from nor how it gets into their homes. But in Isaac's
day, people couldn't live too far from a natural source of water. Many of the
ancient cities and communities were located adjacent to rivers for that very
reason.

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Genesis 26:21-25


● Gen 26:21 . . And when they dug another well, they disputed over
that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

The Hebrew word for "Sitnah" is from sitnan (sit-naw') which is the very
same as sitnah (sit-naw') which means: opposition (by letter).

Apparently the herdsmen were filing formal complaints against Isaac like the
enemies of Ezra did when he was attempting to rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem. (Ezr 4:6-7)

Gerar County's Water Board must have ruled in favor of the herdsmen
because Isaac had to keep moving around until they finally left him alone.

● Gen 26:22 . . He moved from there and dug yet another well, and
they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying: Now at
last the Lord has granted us ample space to increase in the land.

Rehoboth first appeared in the Bible at Gen 10:11 as the name of an ancient
city. It appears two more times in the Bible after here as the name of a city
(Gen 36:37, 1Chrn 1:48) and means pretty much what Isaac said, i.e. lots
of room to maneuver and/or spread out.

The herdsmen had, by this time, probably pushed Isaac way out to land that
nobody wanted. But God was with Isaac. Even the deserts produce when His
hands are in it. (cf. Isa 35:1-4)

With those pesky herdsmen out of the way, the road, or rather, roads ahead
were wide and clear; and Isaac could put the pedal to the metal and go full
speed ahead and not worry about hitting an iceberg; viz: the sky was the
limit.

Isaac was a very patient man, and affable too. But push him too far, and he
might show his teeth. In a bit, Abimelech is coming calling and Isaac is going
to confront the obtuse monarch about the way he was treated by the County
Water Board.

Yes, Isaac Enterprises was a huge, going concern that spread over many
acres of land. But he didn't obtain his wealth by dishonest means. All of
Isaac's business was conducted legally and above board. And he complied
with all of the Gerar County rulings concerning disputes over the water
rights even though their rulings were undoubtedly biased in favor of Gerar
citizens. Isaac didn't deserve to be treated so unfairly.

● Gen 26:23 . . From there he went up to Beer-sheba.

Exactly where the boys Jacob and Esau were during this era in Isaac's life
isn't stated. They may have remained in the highlands to protect Isaac's
interests while he was out of town, but then again, they may have been with
him in Gerar: it's impossible to tell.

Genesis doesn't say exactly how long Isaac and Rebecca lived around Gaza.
Isaac's usual haunts were Beer-lahai-roi, about 50 miles further south. Beer
sheba was Abraham's zone on oath between him and an earlier Abimelech.
The Gerarians could be expected to leave Isaac alone there. The first night,
God showed up.

● Gen 26:24a . .That night the Lord appeared to him and said: I am
the god of your father Abraham.

In what manner, or by what method, God appeared to Isaac isn't stated. It
could have been in a dream, it could have been as a traveling man, or a
close encounter of a third kind: nobody knows for sure.

● Gen 26:24b . . Fear not, for I am with you,

It's reasonable to assume it was unnecessary for God to reassure Isaac, but
Abimelech is on the way. He won't come alone either. He was a king; and
kings travel with an armed retinue. So when news of this comes to Isaac, he
would have good cause to become alarmed. I think God is just giving him a
pep talk to prepare him for the meeting. Like they say: one with God is a
majority; and a man who fears God, has no man to fear.

● Gen 26:24c . . and I will bless you

Isn't that what He promised earlier, when Isaac moved down into Gerar?
Yes. And just in case Isaac thought that was a one time deal, and he would
never be blessed again, God reaffirms his commitment to blessing
Abraham's progeny.

NOTE: The Bible's readers aren't all that privy to what went on in the minds
of the patriarchs. It could be-- and this is only a guess --that Isaac was
feeling a bit guilty about his attempt to deceive Abimelech regarding the
nature of his relationship with Rebecca. Because of that; his humanistic
sense of justice may have suggested that his mistake cost him the previous
blessing: or possibly future ones.

● Gen 26:24d . . and increase your progeny for the sake of My
servant Abraham.

If I were a Hebrew man-- not a pseudo Jew like Gentiles who become Jews
by conversion --but a real Hebrew man by blood, I would make a point of
remembering that God will honor His commitment to Abraham. He hasn't
preserved the people of Israel because they are Jews nor because they are
so faithful to God. No, far from it. It's solely because of His personal
commitment to Abraham-- period. (cf. Ex 32:9-14)

● Gen 26:25 . . So he built an altar there and invoked the Lord by
name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a
well.

Speaking to God by name is different than addressing Him officially as a
deity or a monarch. Not that there's anything wrong with addressing the
Bible's God officially as a deity or a monarch; but speaking to Him by name
implies familiarity; which is a lots cozier than official protocol.

For example: If I were to meet with America's current US President Donald
Trump, I would address him as Sir or Mr. President. It would be very
presumptuous and disrespectful of me to address him by his name Donald
because we have never associated on that level; nor do I expect to.

/

 

[WebersHome]

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Genesis 26:26-30


● Gen 26:26 . . And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with
Ahuzzath his councilor and Phicol chief of his troops.

Well, well, well; look what the cat dragged in. There were a whole lot more
than just those three men; you can bet on that. Phicol is the Army chief of
staff. There is no way he escorted the king of Gerar without bringing along a
fair-sized contingent of Gerar's trained fighting men as body guards.

But who is Ahuzzath?

The Hebrew word for "councilor" is from merea' (may-ray'-ah) which, in the
sense of companionship, means: a friend

An earlier Abimelech, back in Abraham's days, practically kidnapped Sarah
for his harem. But this one showed no interest at all in Rebecca, who was
just as much a stunning ten as Sarah. In point of fact, when Abimelech
complained that one of the people might have slept with Rebecca (Gen 26:9
10) he didn't complain that he himself might have.

Just between you and me: I suspect Mr. Ahussath was Abimelech's boy toy,
if you know what I mean. It really wasn't unusual for ancient monarchs to
have male lovers; and nobody thought too much of it at the time.

● Gen 26:27 . . Isaac said to them: Why have you come to me, seeing
that you have been hostile to me and have driven me away from
you?

Normally, kings in that day did not call on people. If they wanted to see
somebody, they sent a summons to appear and dispatched an escort to
make sure you didn't refuse. Isaac knew something was up because 'ol
Abimelech was treating him as an equal; if not a superior. Isaac had by this
time become strong enough to crush Abimilech's community, and the old
boy very well knew it too.

I can't help but like a man like Isaac. He was so direct. Not really what one
might call an in-your-face kind of guy; but transparent and unequivocal.

● Gen 26:28a . . And they said: We now see plainly that Yhvh has
been with you,

As long as they thought Isaac was a nomadic farmer it was okay to dump on
him? And now that they know he's connected with a supernatural being,
they want to be his friend? But our man is cool. He won't let that get to him.
You know what's going on here? Abimelech is holding his hat in his hand.
And he is going to eat that hat too before it's over.

● Gen 26:28b-29a . . and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty
between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact
with you that you will not do us harm,

You know, it is just amazing how nice people can be when they realize
they've bitten off more than they can chew. The Gerarians had sorely
underestimated Isaac and thought they could push him around because he
was an affable immigrant. Big mistake.

As time went by, they perceived that his prosperity could only be explained
in a supernatural way. If it came to a fight, Isaac was allied with a powerful
spirit being whom they all knew for a certainty from past experiences could
not be defeated. Yes. Isaac was well able to totally clean their clocks and
nail their hides to the barn door. (Isaac was only just recently visited by that
Being back in verse 24 who encouraged Isaac to be brave, and also
promised Divine assistance.)

Isaac was holding all the aces and didn't have to make a pact with anybody.
He could have stood right up, lectured their derrieres soundly for the way he
was treated in their country, and ordered them out of the house. They really
had some chutzpah coming to him with a proposition like that. But Isaac was
indeed a peaceable man; well in control of his tongue, and of his passions. If
those crumbs were ready now to promise to leave him alone, well, then,
okay, he was for it.

● Gen 26:29b . . just as we have not molested you but have always
dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace.

Was that true? Some of it. It's true the Federales didn't raid his camps, nor
plunder his goods, nor rough anybody up. He wasn't subjected to
unreasonable searches and seizures. And he wasn't forcibly deported like an
undesirable, or an enemy of the state, or a criminal.

But still; they didn't deal fairly with Isaac. He never trespassed on private
property, but dug his wells and settled on open range managed by the BLM;
viz: public lands. Yet the county water commission always ruled against him
even though his men dug those productive wells fair and square.

● Gen 26:29c . . From now on, be you blessed of Yhvh!

Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw! I just love it when the bad guys wish me the best
from my god. "God bless you" they say. Oh sure; God bless me. As if they
really give a hoot how the Bible's God feels about anybody.

● Gen 26:30 . .Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and
drank.

The wicked often feel they won because their opponents are so civil and so
agreeable. Isaac had plenty of good reason to be indignant. But he held his
peace. That could be construed as weakness. Mistake! (on their part) You
think Isaac consented to their crappy defense? No way.

Isaac was a shrewd diplomat. He picked his battles. Some things merit
contention. But this incident didn't. Those guys were in his home with hat in
hand and he took advantage of it to secure a non-aggression pact that
benefited both communities: Isaac's and Abimelech's. If Isaac were to let his
passions dictate the terms, then he might jeopardize his family and his
servants. Isaac had his weak points, but political strategy wasn't one of
them.

There are those in life whom we appropriately label thin skinned, reactive,
and defensive. You know who they are. They sit still for nothing, take
nothing lying down: they're stand up fighters; always ready to give others a
piece of their mind and set them straight.

These contentious folk drain all the enjoyment out of social contact.
Everybody has to walk on egg shells and be careful what's said around them
so they don't explode. Too easily provoked, indignant and quarrelsome,
these people will be excluded from Messiah's kingdom because his domain is
characterized as a place of peace rather than strife.

"Give up anger, abandon fury, do not be vexed; it can only do harm. For evil
men will be cut off, but those who look to the Lord-- they shall inherit the
land. A little longer and there will be no wicked man; you will look at where
he was-- he will be gone. But the lowly shall inherit the land, and delight in
abundant well-being." (Ps 37:8-11)

/

 

[WebersHome]

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Genesis 26:31-35


● Gen 26:31-32 . . Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac
then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. That
same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they
had dug, and said to him: We have found water!

Ah, yes. It is always so pleasant to cap a victory with a good ending. Isaac
had a perfect day.

● Gen 26:33 . . He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is
Beer-sheba to this day.

The word for Shibah is from Shib' ah (shib-aw') which means: seven(th)

The new well is sister to a well Abraham dug many years previously in an
unspecified region of Gerar. He, and the then Abimelech, settled ownership
of that one with those seven ewes in chapter 21. So this is puzzling-- shib'
ah is not the same word as sheba'. Sheba' means oath. Shib' ah means
seven. Seven what? I don't know; Genesis doesn't say.

But the number 7 is often used in the Bible like we use the number 10
today. If we want to say something is perfect, we give it a ten. Isaac gave it
a seven; so I think it's safe to assume that the water in the new well was
really exceptional. (compare Rev 13:17-18 where the number of a man is
given as 666, which is imperfection three times over. In other words: man is
not only imperfect; but he's really imperfect.)

● Gen 26:34 . .When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith
daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the
Hittite;

There seems to be some confusion concerning the names, and the number,
of Esau's wives. Here are their names according to Gen 36:2-3.

"Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women-- Adah daughter of
Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the
Hivite --and also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth."

There were two girls named Basemath-- Adah, the daughter of Elon the
Hittite, was also known as Basemath. Adah may have been surnamed to
avoid confusing her with the other Basemath: Ishmael's daughter. The
Oholibamah of 36:2 is the Judith of 26:34. She was the offspring of a mixed
marriage between Beeri and Anah. She too may have been surnamed to
avoid confusion.

● Gen 26:35 . .And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.

In other words, those two girls made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca
and caused them a great deal of mental, and emotional anguish. Some feel
that they were also a source of spiritual friction because they were infidels
who worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. No doubt they did. But how
would that come into play? Well; their religions permitted the practice of
some vile social customs.

Canaanite religions didn't forbid such things as wife swapping, promiscuity,
adultery, sex with women in their period, burning children to death in
sacrificial ceremonies, sleeping with close blood relatives, gay and lesbian
love, bestiality, nudity, astrology, divination, voodoo, magic, communication
with the spirit world, witchcraft, drunkenness, and wild parties; including
cult prostitution where women devotees sold themselves to support their
"church" (cf. Gen 38:13-23)

So you can easily see just how vexing that women like that might be. How
could Esau even trust them while he was away on safari? Lacking his
companionship, they would either turn to each other for sensual comforts or
seek out lovers among the servants. They might even hit on Rebecca and
Isaac; and maybe even hit on their co-husband's third wife; Ishmael's
Basemath. And the girls would have no qualms about walking around the
house scantily clad or even in the nude; so you never knew what to expect
when they invited you over.

Those two women were very definitely not the PowerPuff Girls-- the
wholesome little kindergartners who make the world safe before bedtime.
No; they were the PantyHose Girls who seanced, Tarot carded, and Ouija
boarded their way to new excitements.

As bad as all that stuff was, it doesn't hold a candle to the danger of those
women influencing Isaac's grandchildren. And that is a very real threat in
mixed marriages. Men especially are susceptible to letting their wives guide
the home's religious training. I've seen it often enough to know what I'm
saying.

And with a man like Esau, a secular man who had no interest in religion to
begin with, the kids had no hope at all of turning out right. They will grow up
to scorn and ridicule Abraham's religion; and his god too. They will pick up
the most abominable habits, and see nothing wrong in them.

There is one thing our kids can do for us that is unquestionably the most
important thing they will ever do-- pass on our religious beliefs on to our
progeny. No one else is going to do that for us. And we can't stay behind
and make sure it happens. So if we leave our kids without a solid religious
heritage; then their own kids-- our grandchildren --are doomed to return to
secular concepts. And maybe worse.

Esau's side of the family went bad, that's for sure, just like Cain's did. And I
believe it started on it's downhill slide right with his union to those two
impious women. At Esau's age, and in that kind of home and upbringing; he
should have known better. But in spite of his parents' protests; in spite of
his parents' fears regarding their grandchildren; in spite of his parents'
feelings about those women coming into their home; in spite of God's
feelings regarding His religion; and in spite of his birthright; Esau forged
ahead and married those two filthy women.

You know why? Because it was his life; and nobody was going to tell him
how to live it. Some people, like the pharaoh that resisted Moses; are just
defiant to the bone and they'll do things wrong just to stand up to you and
assert their independence.

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[WebersHome]

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Genesis 27:1a-1b


● Gen 27:1a . .When Isaac was old

Just precisely how old Isaac was at this time, is difficult to tell. But I think
we can come close enough for government work.

Jacob spent 20 years with Laban. (Gen 31:41a)

Joseph was born during that time. (Gen 30:22-24)

At just about the time Joseph was born, Jacob and Laban worked out an
arrangement concerning shares of the livestock to compensate Jacob's
labors. (Gen 30:25-34)

That deal with the livestock went on for six of the twenty years Jacob served
Laban. (Gen 31:41b)

Joseph was 30 when he became prime minister of Egypt. (Gen 41:46a)

When Joseph went to work for Pharaoh; a 14 year period began, consisting
of two divisions-- seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine. After
the seven years of plenty, and two of the years of famine, when he was
about 39, Joseph brought his dad down into Egypt. (Gen 45:6-9)

When Jacob arrived, he stood before Pharaoh and told him he was 130 years
old. (Gen 47:7-9a)

Now we can do some arithmetic.

Jacob arrived in Egypt at 130. Subtracting Joseph's age of 39, we get 91;
which was Jacob's age when Joseph was born. After subtracting 14-- the
years Jacob worked for Laban up to the deal they made concerning the
livestock --we're left with 77; which is Jacob's approximate age when he
indentured himself to Laban.

Allowing for a generous intermission of 2 years-- encompassing Rebecca's
scheme, Jacob's flight to Haran, and his eventual indenture to Laban --
Jacob's age in the section of Genesis we're in today, can very reasonably be
put at 75.

Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born. (Gen 25:26)

So adding 75 to 60, puts Isaac somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 years
old at the beginning of chapter 27.

Everyone involved in this next episode was getting up in years and thus
quite mature. Jacob and Esau, though 75 years old, were, nonetheless,
vigorous men and, gerontologically speaking, relatively young in terms of
the aging process as it existed in those days. Even Isaac wasn't as near
death as he feared since he lived another 45 years to be 180 when he died.
(Gen 35:28)

● Gen 27:1b . . and his eyes were too dim to see,

The word for "dim" is from kahah (kaw-haw') which means: to be weak; viz:
to despond and/or grow dull.

So Isaac wasn't actually blind, as some have proposed. It's far more likely
he was stricken with cataracts, macular degeneration and/or some other
vision condition very common among people his age even today.

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[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:1c-4


● Gen 27:1c-2 . . he called his older son Esau and said to him; My
son. He answered; Here I am. And he said; I am old now, and I do
not know how soon I may die.

It's common for older men to feel that not only is their time running out, but
also their luck. I've dodged several bullets in my 72 years; two of them
literal; and can't reasonably expect to live too much longer before the law of
averages catches up to me either by accident, crime, or natural causes.

● Gen 27:3-4 . . Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and
your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare
a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may
eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.

The part about "my soul" is a curious statement. The Hebrew word is
nephesh (neh'-fesh) which is a very common word for all creatures great
and small in the Old Testament beginning at Gen 1:20. Nepesh never refers
to unconscious life; viz: it only refers to fauna, never to flora.

But the interesting thing is: man not only is a soul (Gen 2:7) but according
to Gen 27:4, Gen 34:2, and a host of other passages, man also has a soul;
so it turns out that nephesh is a bit ambiguous.

A pretty good paraphrase of that portion of the passage would be "that I
may bless you from the core of my being". (viz: the bottom of his heart)

Esau was Isaac's favorite and I don't think he ever did care too much for
Jacob. If he had purposed to bless Jacob, I think it would have been done
with a very grudging spirit. This particular blessing regards Esau's
inheritance. He already sold the patriarchy to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup.
Whether or not Isaac was aware of the deal the brothers struck, is not said.

What takes place next in chapter 27 is difficult to believe. To think that two
grown-ups, one at least 75 and the other very likely 115 years old, took part
in this incredibly clownish deception. I could understand young,
inexperienced kids doing something so stupid. But it is difficult to understand
how supposedly mature adults like Rebecca and Jacob could ever seriously
ponder such a silly scheme.

It is simply moronic that Rebecca would even remotely consider that her
crafty little plan had even the remotest chance of success. Conducted under
false pretenses, and a fake ID; it would only be a matter of hours before the
scam was uncovered, the ill gotten blessing of course annulled, and the
perpetrators soundly excoriated . . unless . . unless there is more to this
incident than meets the eye; and there most certainly is.

Ninety-five years prior to this point in time, God personally selected a
vibrant water girl up in Haran to be Isaac's spouse. The wisdom of that
selection is now going to become apparent as we begin to realize who
actually wore the spiritual pants in Isaac's house. If spirituality were a
martial art, Rebecca would be a black belt. Her discernment regarding
matters of Heaven is just incredible. Was she really a silly female? Far
from it.

In spite of God's mandate in chapter 25 concerning Jacob, and in spite of the
plainly obvious superiority of Jacob's character, and his spiritual
discernment, and his convictions, and in spite of Esau's blatant indifference
to his birthright, and to his spiritual heritage, and to the mind of God; Isaac
was nevertheless apparently determined to give both the patriarchy and the
inheritance to Esau-- clearly the wrong choice; not to mention a direct
affront to God. The inheritance was one thing, but the patriarchy was a
whole other matter altogether.

Esau even married impious women from among the pagan Canaanites. A
horrible choice considering the repercussions of such spouses upon the
future of Abraham's covenant. And Esau no doubt made that choice against
the counsel and consent of his parents; proving all the more just how head
strong and self-willed the man really was. Motivated by the gain of temporal
advantage, and the gratification of carnal appetites; Esau had no spiritual
vision at all. Well; Rebecca is fixin' to give Mr. Isaac, and his secular son Mr.
Esau, the wake-up call of their lives!

Esau was a man's man. I think if any of us met him, we would be instantly
drawn by his charisma and virility. And I think that Isaac saw in him the kind
of man he always wished he was himself. But in the coin of heaven, Esau
had no more worth than a dilapidated old shoe.

It's difficult to comprehend how favoritism, on the part of such a presumably
spiritual man as Isaac, could be based upon such a carnal motive as the
taste of venison. But it wasn't just the meal, but rather the way it was
obtained.

We get runs of Salmon up here in Oregon's rivers at various times of the
year. Last time I checked; you could buy fresh Coho Salmon in local
supermarkets for about $12 a pound. But no; guys prefer instead to spend
all day on a river shivering in the freezing cold just to catch one Salmon in
the wild.

But the river fish means something that the supermarket fish can never
mean. Yes, both are edible and both make great eating and honestly you
can't tell the difference. But one is obtained with a shopping cart. The other
by a man's own bare hands: with fishing tackle, by personal energy
combined with risk, skill, and cunning. All those are important to a "real"
man's feelings of personal worth.

It was customary in Jacob's day to mark solemn occasions with a feast; like
the one Isaac prepared for Abimelech when they swore an oath together in
chapter 26. And since the blessing Isaac resolved to bestow upon Esau was
such an important one, it seemed appropriate that the solemnities should be
marked by a feast of wild meat provided by Esau's own personal hunting
skills.

However, father and son didn't reckon on the God factor, and they surely
didn't reckon on black ops Rebecca. Their little party is not going to happen
because this sharp gal from up north anticipated this very day and is all set
to implement a little fiesta of her own.

/

 

[WebersHome]

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Genesis 27:5-13


● Gen 27:5a . . Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son
Esau.

We might ask: Why was Rebecca so concerned anyway? Didn't God decree
the firstborn's rights to Jacob? Then Jacob will get them anyway; won't he?

Yes. Jacob would eventually end up with the firstborn's rights anyway; but
the problem was: the outgoing patriarch had to impart the blessing and
obviously Mr. Isaac wasn't inclined to do so. It appears to me that Isaac was
actually going to attempt to circumvent God's wishes and I honestly think it
was because he was afraid of alienating his favorite son.

Rebecca wasn't stupid, nor inclined to superstition. I seriously doubt she was
silly enough to believe the words of the blessing themselves held sufficient
magic to confer the firstborn's rights upon Jacob just because he happened
to be in the room and hear them as they were spoken in his direction. After
all, it was all done under false pretenses and a fake ID. No court in the land
would uphold anything obtained by a fraud like that. But her scheme was
designed to do something else entirely.

I believe her intent was to wake Isaac up and make him return to his
senses. The man did fear God. That much is beyond question. But he was
lax in his patriarchal duties. Before this is over, he will regret his laxity very,
very much.

● Gen 27:5b-7 . .When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game
to bring home, Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I overheard your
father speaking to your brother Esau, saying: Bring me some game
and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the
Lord's approval, before I die.

That's not really what Isaac said. It appears that Rebecca embellished a little
and added "with the Lord's approval." Compare Gen 3:3 where Eve
embellished God's testimony in Gen 2:17 where He didn't forbid them to
"touch" the fruit; no, only to eat it.

● Gen 27:8 . . Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you.

Cool as a vice cop, Rebecca executes Plan A with the step by step precision
of a well arranged sting. I can just visualize her grip upon Jacob's arm,
gazing up into his face with a most intense look, as she gears him up to get
started on his part of the scheme.

● Gen 27:9a . . Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids,

Why two? Well, for one thing: deer produce a much larger quantity of meat
than a little bitty kid. It's true Isaac couldn't possibly eat a whole deer at one
sitting, but Rebecca can only use parts of the kids that best resemble the
venison cuts Isaac prefers. And Esau more than likely cooked up a whole lot
more than just one serving. I think he typically brought his dad a heaping
buffet and let him pick out what he wanted; and anything left over was kept
as victuals for the rest of the house; which of course included Esau himself.

Rebecca is going to have to duplicate that setting as best as she can. And
she will too. After all, who was it taught those two boys how to cook in the
first place? None other than Becky Crocker.

● Gen 27:9b . . and I will make of them a dish for your father, such
as he likes.

This is additional evidence that it wasn't merely the flavor of Esau's cooking
that made Isaac love him. Rebecca could duplicate the taste of venison with
goat meat so that you couldn't tell the one from the other.

● Gen 27:10a-11a . .Then take it to your father to eat, in order that
he may bless you before he dies. Jacob answered his mother
Rebecca: But....

Jacob straight away sees where his mom is going with this and likes it.
However . . there's just one problem: Rebecca can duplicate Esau's cooking;
but how will Jacob duplicate Esau? They didn't have the benefit of slick
Hollywood make-up artists in those days so how are they going to make
Jacob look (or rather, feel) like his brother?

Well, they have Isaac's poor eyesight to their advantage; so Jacob's
appearance won't have to be all that accurate. But they will need at least
one prosthetic: body hair.

● Gen 27:11b-12 . . my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am
smooth-skinned. If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a
trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.

Isaac might get the wrong idea and think that Jacob is poking fun at his bad
eyesight by playing a dumb trick on him. That would hurt the old boy's
feelings a great deal to think that his 75 year-old son thought so little of him
as to perpetrate such a cruel prank; which of course would warrant a curse;
because it is not only cruel to play tricks on the blind, but, even worse, to be
cruel to one's parents.

● Gen 27:13 . . But his mother said to him: Your curse, my son, be
upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.

That's the oldest ploy in the book. It's the very same reasoning the German
military guards used to justify their duties at Auschwitz and Dachau. "You
can't blame us" they said; "We only did what we were told." That seems
reasonable enough. After all, the ones in charge are really responsible;
right?

Wrong. The midwives of Ex 1:15-17 could have used the very same excuse;
but didn't. And God commended them for fearing Him. If they had obeyed
Pharaoh, they would have received condemnation instead. Everyone bears
their own personal responsibility and has a duty to raise conscientious
objections.

In other words: it is a sin to violate your conscience. Yes, soldiers and minor
children are to obey their superiors-- but to the point of sin? Never! Besides,
Jacob was no minor child. He was a grown man.

But Rebecca needed some leverage to keep Jacob in the game. By playing
the "filial authority" card, she persuaded Jacob to stay on track. Luckily, he
wasn't too bright at the time and failed to appreciate his own personal
accountability. After all, the man was at least 75 years old; not just a little
kid.

But then again, I think Jacob the supplanter really wanted to pull this thing
off and just needed a way to appease his own misgivings about it; so it
wasn't too difficult to win him over.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:14-25


● Gen 27:14-15 . . He got them and brought them to his mother, and
his mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. Rebecca then
took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the
house, and had her younger son Jacob put them on;

The word for "house" is from bayith (bah'-yith) which means: a dwelling (in
the greatest variation of applications), including family.

Does that mean Rebecca lived in a permanent structure? I don't think so.
Bayith doesn't always mean what we think. In Gen 6:14 it implicates the
interior of the ark. At Gen 7:1 it implicates Noah's family, and quite possibly
even all their belongings-- a regular Noah's Family Robinson. At Gen 15:2,
bayith implicates Abraham's entire estate: his tents, his livestock, and his
servants.

Some have proposed that Esau's best clothes were special-- for religious
observances --like the garments that priests might wear. But that certainly
doesn't fit Esau's character. I think it was just a nice outfit of some sort,
maybe even the one he got married in. But anyway, they sure didn't get
washed often because his clothes usually smelled like the outdoors-- and
that could mean anything from plain old dirt to wild flowers and meadow
grass.

But why were those clothes (viz: his cleanest dirty shirts) in Rebecca's
home? I believe it was because Rebecca anticipated this very day and kept
them right there handy so she could put them on Jacob when the time
came. And that is why she never washed the smell out of them. Jacob of
course was very likely a tidy sort of guy and kept his clothes clean. But Esau
was a rugged outdoor type who's clothes you would expect to have an odor.

● Gen 27:16 . . and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his
neck with the skins of the kids.

Those hides would still be raw and untreated. So Rebecca had to scrub and
scrape to get all the fat and blood off so they wouldn't have a visceral smell
to them. Yuck! That's reminiscent of scenes from Silence Of The Lambs.

● Gen 27:17 . .Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish
and the bread that she had prepared.

Yummy. From the kitchen of Becky Crocker; with biscuits and gravy too.
Well, this is as far as Rebecca can go. Now it's all up to Mr. Jacob to pull this
off. Good luck dude. Don't chicken out now. HWUAH! (Navy SEAL cheer)

● Gen 27:18-19a . . He went to his father and said: Father. And he
said: Yes, which of my sons are you? Jacob said to his father: I am
Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me.

That man makes me proud. No mumbling, no stuttering, no hesitation--
right to it. Yes; he is a big fat liar. But I love it. You watch. Any day now he'll
get a letter in the mail from CIA recruiters praising his moral flexibility.

NOTE: When Jacob called out to his dad; he used what is known as a
"vocative" which Webster's defines as: of, relating to, or being a
grammatical case marking out the one addressed. In other words: a
vocative is intended to get the attention of a specific person in a room rather
than everybody in the room.

This may seem superfluous, and I guess it isn't germane to the study of
Genesis; but the principle has an important application in Christianity.
Compare Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 where the Aramaic vocative Abba indicates
that the Father's children don't call out to Him as merely a clan's
paterfamilias, but rather, like Jacob did with Isaac: as one's very own papa.

● Gen 27:19b-20 . . Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may
give me your innermost blessing. Isaac said to his son: How did you
succeed so quickly, my son? And he said: Because the Lord your God
granted me good fortune.

What did he say!? My golly that man had chutzpah! He actually dragged the
name of God into the lie. Now Jacob will be condemned to the lower regions
for sure; or will he?

"I say unto you: that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt
8:11)

● Gen 27:21-23 . . Isaac said to Jacob: Come closer that I may feel
you, my son-- whether you are really my son Esau or not. So Jacob
drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him and wondered: The voice
is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau. He did not
recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his
brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

So then, in spite of their twin-ness, there was enough of a difference in the
brothers' voices to be discernable. However, Rebecca somehow attached
size-cut pieces of young goat skin on the backs of Jacob's hands and fingers
with some sort of toupee adhesive so it would feel to Isaac as if it were a
man's natural hairs. That was a pretty good trick; and would probably land
her a job as a Hollywood make-up artist.

● Gen 27:24 . . He asked: Are you truly my son Esau? And when he
said: I am,

Some people are of the opinion that Jacob was a mama's boy. Well, maybe
he was. But one thing he had that most mama's boys don't; and it's a level
head under stress. Jacob was as calm and calculating as a test pilot all
during this incident.

I tell you, that man amazes me. I bet Rebecca was just outside the door
sweating bullets while all this was going on; hoping and praying that Jacob
not lose his cool and bolt out of the room in a panic. This is just the kind of
cool under fire that the Secret Service looks for; but then, you need a pretty
high IQ to work with those guys.

● Gen 27:25 . . he said: Serve me and let me eat of my son's game
that I may give you my innermost blessing. So he served him and he
ate, and he brought him wine and he drank.

The wine was probably out in the kitchen. When Jacob went back to get it,
don't you think Rebecca hugged him and gave him a great big thumbs up? I
do. Those two were a team! The original Mission Impossible task force.

While Isaac was eating, he and Jacob probably chatted. About what; I don't
have a clue. But Jacob managed to pull it off like a pro. Isaac really thought
he was talking with Esau.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:26-29b


● Gen 27:26-27 . .Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close and
kiss me, my son. And he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his
clothes and he blessed him, saying, Ah, the smell of my son is like
the smell of the fields that the Lord has blessed.

Esau probably always smelled like that and Rebecca took full advantage of it.
He should have washed his clothes once in a while. Good grief the man had
two wives. What the heck did they do all day? Neglect their chores to watch
Oprah, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy, and the Soaps?

I bet if you visited Esau's home the kids were running around in dirty
underwear and snotty noses all the time. You probably had to kick a path to
walk and wouldn't dare sit down because something might stick. Poor
Rebecca. What a pair of daughters-in-law. I bet when they all got together
on holidays, Judith and Basemath sat around on their tushes and gossiped
while Rebecca and Jacob did all the dishes.

● Gen 27:28 . . May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of
the earth, abundance of new grain and wine.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Abel's offering is cheleb (kheh'
leb); or cheleb (khay'-leb) which don't always indicate fleshly fat, but mostly
mean the richest or the choicest parts.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Isaac's blessing is mashman
(mash-mawn') which, again, doesn't always indicate fleshly fat; but also
richness; e.g. a rich dish, a fertile field, and or a robust man. In other
words; Isaac's blessing is agricultural.

The benediction, first of all, regards things in nature necessary for prosperity
in an agrarian economy-- rain, fertile soil, and abundant yields. Rain is an
especially precious resource in the country of Israel where today it's confined
to just one season a year lasting only three months. In the old days, they
had two rainy seasons; the early rains and the latter rains.

City slickers hate rain. It's so inconvenient. It gets their hair wet; they have
to run the wipers; it floods their streets and storm drains, their gutters
overflow from clogged downspouts, they can't wear flip-flops-- caring little
that the foods available in the supermarkets and convenience stores are
utterly dependent upon adequate rain. I think that some people actually
think their foods are manufactured in sweat shops rather than grown in the
dirt. They just can't make the connection.

● Gen 27:29a . . Let peoples serve you, And nations bow to you;

Jacob's progeny has exercised dominance over many nations in the past,
most especially during Solomon's period. Today they're in a slump. But that
benediction isn't dead yet; no, not by a long sea mile. In the future, Israel
will be the seat of world power and the center for religious studies. You'd
never know it to look at Jacob's condition today; but it's going to happen.

● Gen 27:29b . . Be master over your brothers, and let your mother's
sons bow to you.

The magic words! --and the very ones I'm sure Rebecca was anxiously
waiting to hear. His "mother's sons" right then only amounted to (in Isaac's
mind) just one: Mr. Jacob. But Rebecca became a grandma and today her
sons can't even be numbered. Every one of them are supposed to honor
Jacob and bow in respect because he, along with Isaac and Abraham, is a
member of the elite league of senior patriarchs.

The bestowal of the patriarchy upon Jacob was done with God as a witness,
who has, so far, neither interfered nor intervened; nor has He seen fit to
alert Isaac to Jacob's deception, nor said a single word about the whole
fraudulent business.

In short, the Almighty God, of all people, is apparently condoning Jacob's
funny business. It seems to me, that the only way to understand this
situation is to conclude that, whatever may be wrong with the stratagem
and deception of Jacob and Rebecca, the sin of Esau and Isaac was infinitely
more grievous.

Yes, it's true that God doesn't usually condone lies; and I'm sure Jacob and
his mom well knew it. They were spiritual people; both of them. But I really
think that as bad as deception might be in God's sight, it had become a
desperate necessity in this case to prevent a much worse sin: that of
blasphemously presuming to impart the most holy of God's offices to a man
who neither appreciated its depth, nor would honor it-- and to do so directly
in the face of God's commandment against it.

Such an eventuality surely would have incurred God's most severe discipline
upon both Isaac and Esau; and I am convinced that Rebecca felt she must
prevent that occurrence at all costs, even if it meant alienating her husband
and infuriating Esau to the point of seeking Jacob's death.

Isaac, because of the solemn nature of what he was doing, (conveying holy
covenant promises and blessings to a son, who in turn would be responsible
for their transmission and implementation in his own family) was no doubt
under the influence of the power of God that day and was carried along in
the scheme even though he half suspected the son in the room with him
wasn't Esau. No. Jacob was getting that blessing, and there was nothing
short of Heaven and Hell themselves that could prevent it.

The Almighty Himself, who had made His solemn covenant with Abraham,
and renewed it with Isaac, certainly was present in that room during the
whole affair. What would have happened if Esau was instead standing there
that day we can only surmise.

But it seems highly probable that the consequences would have been tragic
for both father and son. The Almighty God's holy promises and covenants
are never to be dispensed as trifles, subject to the whim and preference of
self centered mortals who are swayed to make important decisions simply
upon the taste of their favorite foods.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:29c


● Gen 27:29c . . Cursed be they who curse you, blessed they who
bless you.

That the blessing upon Jacob was definitely the same as the blessing given
to Abraham and Isaac is clear from the words spoken here in the final part.

First, Isaac conferred the material aspects of patriarchal life: prosperity. I
am sure that Esau would have loved that part of it. However, there is
nothing in the wording of the blessing to suggest that it included an actual
bequeathal of Isaac's assets. Isaac's closing statement echoes God's own
words to Abraham in Gen 12:3

Some have wondered why Isaac didn't include the balance of the Gen 12:2
-3 blessing at this time; which goes like this:

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your
name great, and you shall be a blessing . . and all the families of the earth
shall bless themselves by you."

Sad to say, I think Isaac knew very well it would be like blessing a beast.
Though Esau might become a great nation, he would never become a
blessing to all the families of the Earth; nor that they would bless
themselves by him.

Yet even knowing that, Isaac was, for all intents and purposes, still
determined to confer the patriarchy upon Esau, the secular son. I hate to
say it, but I strongly suspect Isaac was becoming somewhat deranged;
especially because of the feelings he entertained about his supposedly
imminent death.

Anyway, he did pronounce the blessing upon Jacob; and did so under the
very inspiration of God, though Isaac himself was trying to thwart the will of
God all the while he was speaking.

Just so, many years later, the infamous prophet for profit, Balaam, in
Numbers 22, 23, and 24, was forced to bless Israel even against his own
will.

And in the days of Jesus of Nazareth (John 11:49-52) the high priest spoke
prophetically of the meaning of Jesus' death; though the priest himself did
not understand the real import of what he was saying; nor even put any
stock at all in his own words.

The blessing which, by God's edict, should have gone to Jacob in the first
place, was indeed finally pronounced upon him by his father in spite of
Isaac's lack of willingness to do so. He was tricked into it, yes; but by
thunder that shouldn't have been necessary.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:30-38


● Gen 27:30-33a . . No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his
father Isaac-- after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his
brother Esau came back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and
brought it to his father. And he said to his father: Let my father sit
up and eat of his son's game, so that you may give me your
innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who are you? And
he said: I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with
very violent trembling.

According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed
the wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the
son for whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he
saw Hell open beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased
with his intentions; and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he
would suffer dire consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were
true.

It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came
home to him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God
overruled Isaac, and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he
was supposed to do in the first place.

Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca,
and by his faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much
up until now. I think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people
that they were, deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from
doing what he very well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the
whole scheme, and had blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to
the contrary. Jacob would indeed be blessed, just as he should have been all
along.

● Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game
and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I
blessed him; now he must remain blessed!

This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to
change it. He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these
thoughts came over him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts
must have overwhelmed him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future,
heartbreak over Rebecca's treachery, resentment at having his own plans
thwarted, and shame for having played the fool in such an important
spiritual matter. All those feelings surely contributed to his trembling.

Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had
incurred great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed
the trust of his father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home;
all because of a carnal appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's
physical exploits. No wonder the poor man was shaking so badly.

● Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into
wild and bitter sobbing,

The word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak') and
means: to shriek.

I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very
same hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White
Throne judgment of Rev 20:11-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally
sinks in that they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.

At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then
quite bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad
shivering, and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the
awful truth became only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his
disappointment with a dreadful scream.

● Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!

In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was
actually hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the
fraudulent blessing. Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the
older son like he wanted to. But no. It was far more serious than either Esau
or his dad imagined; which by now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.

● Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and
took away your blessing.

That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent
alienating his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change
anything now even if he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he
was fully reminded of God's original mandate regarding the two boys even
before they were born. Hardly knowing how to explain his wanton error to
Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it. But it was Isaac's fault all along. He
should never have led Esau to believe he would get the blessing. So many
dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they raised their kids.
Isaac was certainly no better.

● Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he
might supplant me these two times? First he took away my
birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!

Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course
conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for
a measly bowl of porridge.

● Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing
for me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him
master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and
sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you,
my son? And Esau said to his father: Have you but one blessing,
Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud.

It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he
man screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he
begged his dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that
somehow God, through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to
change His mind. The portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to
Esau the most-- that of political superiority and material security-- had been
irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the blubbering in the world couldn't
change the situation now.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:39-42a


● Gen 27:39-40 . . And his father Isaac answered, saying to him: See,
your abode shall be [away from] the fat of the earth and [from] the
dew of heaven above. Yet by your sword you shall live, and you shall
serve your brother; but when you grow restive, you shall break his
yoke from your neck.

The words in the brackets don't actually appear in the Hebrew text. But
according to a foot note in the 1985 JPS Tanakh; the meaning of the Hebrew
is just what you see. Jacob's side of the family was granted the best water,
fertile soils, and abundant yields. In contrast, Esau's side of the family would
live in regions plagued with geological shortages of water, arable land, and
natural pastures.

Isaac's prediction was fulfilled by the very nature of the rugged region that
came to be known as the land of Edom. The Edomites, in general, lived in
violence and subjection to Israel; remaining essentially independent until
David's time, but then were subjugated permanently after that in spite of
frequent rebellions and temporary partial freedom. Finally, Edom
disappeared as a nation by that name: the little prophecy of Obadiah
explains why.

Esau's life of indifference to spiritual matters-- in spite of being born to one
of the most privileged heritages possible --had finally caught up with him
and it was too late even for regrets.

● Gen 27:41 . . Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because
of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to
himself: Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will
kill my brother Jacob.

Well, he had a long wait ahead of him. Isaac lived another 45 years.

But isn't it odd how the human spirit desires to kill-- not just desire for harm
and misfortune; but to the gravest extreme?

A few years ago, out here on a highway in Oregon, traffic was slowed. So a
man tried to get ahead of it by driving on the shoulder to pass everyone up.
As he went by a pick-up truck with some men in it, one of them threw a
paper cup at him. He dropped back and fired a gun into the pick-up, killing
one of the passengers.

That is so typical of the feelings that overwhelm human beings when they're
angry. They want blood, and no other form of revenge will satisfy. Is it
possible that there is anybody out there who has never wished that
somebody would die?

Esau's personality changed dramatically. He went from an indifferent,
carefree outdoor sportsman to a bitter, vindictive neurotic. The thought of
his sissy brother ruling over him-- the superior son who was always admired
and idolized for his strength and prowess --was just too much for Esau to
bear.

● Gen 27:42a . . When the words of her older son Esau were reported
to Rebecca,

You know, if criminals would just keep their mouths shut they might get
away with a whole lot more crimes. But no, they just have to tell somebody
about it. Esau must have vented his bitterness to some of the servants who,
in turn, leaked it to Rebecca.

/

 

[WebersHome]

-
Genesis 27:42b-45


● Gen 27:42b-43a . . she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to
him: Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.
Now, my son, listen to me.

Again showing herself to be a woman of quick decision, Rebecca called Jacob
and told him exactly what to do. Not wishing for a war between her sons,
she thought it best to send Jacob away for a while.

● Gen 27:43b-45 . . Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay
with him a while, until your brother's fury subsides-- until your
brother's anger against you subsides --and he forgets what you have
done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you
both in one day!

The word for "fury" is from chemah (khay-maw') and/or chema' (khay
maw') which means: heat. The word for "anger" is from 'aph (af) which
means: the nose or nostril; hence, the face, and occasionally a person; also
(from the rapid breathing in passion) ire.

(chuckle) Ol' Esau was indeed a passionate man. But his was not the
lingering passion of a scented candle, or of a Yule log, which burn slowly for
a long time. His rage burned more like a tumbleweed; a flashing,
momentary flame that would soon pass. Esau might hold a grudge, but he
wouldn't go on red faced and breathing heavy about it for very long.

Moody, introspective people, often stay upset for long periods of time; which
really exasperates the Esau types who usually get over things quickly. The
Esau types are happy to let personal conflicts blow over and then move on.
But the moody types are always wanting to dredge up unresolved hurts and
argue about them again and again for the Nth time until someone finally
listens.

Some lawsuits, like the one between President Clinton and Paula Jones,
often cannot be settled out of court because personalities like hers want an
admission of guilt and an apology. Money is out of the question, and an
insult to boot, because people like Paula Jones are never satisfied with
anything less than a public hanging.

Knowing Esau's nature, Rebecca figured his rage would pass away quickly
and he would soon return to his typical carefree ways. Unfortunately, it was
past twenty years before Jacob came back home, and there is no record that
he ever saw his mom again.

Rebecca's stratagem was indeed costly, but it could have gone much worse
if Jacob had stayed home. Surely any attempt by Esau to kill Jacob would
have resulted in Esau's death; the Lord protecting Jacob for future use. But I
think Rebecca feared Esau might succeed and then become permanently
alienated from the family like Cain was after killing his brother Abel. So she
would, in effect, lose both boys in one day just as grandma Eve did.

Rebecca-- the bright, discreet lass that she was --no doubt had counted all
the costs of her scheme; and believed the issue was vital enough to require
her to do what she did. As a matter of fact, later events proved that she was
correct. Esau did soon get over his rage, and he prospered quite adequately
in a material sense. Jacob never did really lord it over him, which was
probably all Esau really cared about anyway.

Both boys survived this calamitous event: hubby Isaac too. And Jacob went
on to spawn the people of Israel, thus making a line to Messiah; by whom
the Serpent's head would be crushed, and the entire world blessed beyond
measure.

They say all's well that ends well. Maybe. Rebecca's family was fractured,
and she lost the companionship of a really good son. Hers was a sacrifice of
the heart. I would really like to see Rebecca compensated for that some day.

/