-
†. 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.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. 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.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=