Tag: Isaac

The Intended Blessing

Posted on by jovial_cynic
We know the story of Isaac giving Jacob the blessing instead of giving it to Esau. But do you recall that there are two blessings given to Jacob?

The first is in Genesis 27, where the blessing is primarily about material abundance and position among his brothers, and among the nations:

Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
Genesis 27:28-29 (NASB)

The second blessing is in Genesis 28, where Isaac pronounces God’s blessing over Jacob. It’s a much bigger blessing. It’s the IMPORTANT one.

May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, so that you may possess the land where you live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.”
Genesis 28:3-4 (NASB)

Here, Isaac is not deceived. He knows exactly who he is giving this blessing to.

So I wonder if Rebekah’s intended deception was unnecessary. Perhaps she was so worried about material possessions and status of her son, she forgot that God had already promised to bless Jacob.

Perhaps Isaac was always going to give this bigger blessing to Jacob.

Your God, not My God

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me. Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing.”
Genesis 27:19 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

The rabbis debate Jacob’s words in Genesis 27:19. Some say he lied, similar to “she is my sister.” Lies about identity is a theme.

But some say the phase can be read, “I am; Esau is your firstborn,” being technically not a lie, but maybe a “good” kind of deception, if there is such a thing.

Isaac said to his son, “How did you succeed so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because your God יהוהgranted me good fortune.”
Genesis 27:19 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

On the other hand, the phrase, “because YOUR God,” in verse 20 may be the key to the story. Jacob has no relationship with God, yet.

His intention isn’t to honor God, so we shouldn’t try to reconcile righteousness and deception. It is only deception at this point in the story.

Honor your Mother and Father

Posted on by jovial_cynic
When Jacob is advised by his mother to deceive his father, we see the singular act of dishonor: Jacob vs his father Isaac. But if Jacob ignored his mother, he would be dishonoring her.

There’s a dilemma we are supposed to notice. How does a righteous son proceed?

I suspect it is easier for Jacob to honor his mother simply because he knew that she loved him. The text clearly states that Rebekah favored him, and that Isaac favored Esau.

Perhaps there is wisdom in this.

Never Thirst Again

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But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of [a]flowing water.
Genesis 26:19 (NASB)

[a] Lit living water

If it’s true and good, it can be found in Genesis.

When Jesus tells the woman at the well about “Living Water” in John 4:10, this isn’t a new phrase. It comes from Genesis 26.

May you read and understand.

May you never thirst again.

Wells of Living Water

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Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with dirt.
Genesis 26:15 (NASB)

One rabbinical teaching: a well is a metaphor for the heart. Abraham digging wells is an allegory of God’s living water flowing within us when one is converted by God into belief.

The Philistines filled the wells with worldliness; dirt is cursed ground.

Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.
Genesis 26:18 (NASB)

When Isaac digs the wells, he digs up the same ones that his father had already dug, and gives them the same names that his father did so the same living water could flow.

Isaac resembles Abraham, doing the work of his father so his father’s work is remembered.

Blessing in Famine

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Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And the Lord blessed him.
Genesis 26:12 (NASB)

The importance of Genesis 26:12 is only understood in the context of Genesis 26:1.

The text starts off telling us that there is a famine. But also, this blessing doesn’t happen until Isaac tells Abimelech the truth about his wife.

Through Closed Shutters

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Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah.
Genesis 26:8 (NASB)

This part of Genesis is written so vaguely that it’s raises a ton of questions. Is it Abimelech’s window or Isaac’s? But also, there’s no glass windows at this time. It’s a shutter, so the act can only be visible if the shutter is open.

For this reason, some suspect that the shutter was actually CLOSED during the day, which is something you might do if you didn’t want to be seen. But a CLOSED window could have raised suspicion, and that’s actually what allowed Abimelech to learn what was going on.

Interestingly, “caressing his wife” here is the word “playing” or “mocking,” which is the same word used to describe what Ishmael was doing to Isaac when Isaac was weened. It’s also the word used to describe what Potipher’s wife accused Joseph of doing later in the text.

Better than Beautiful

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When the men of the place asked 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 Rebekah, since she is beautiful.”
<citeGenesis 26:7 (NASB)

One reason the rabbis suggest the men of Gerar never kidnapped Rebekah is because she wasn’t, in fact, “beautiful.”

The Hebrew word here is טוֹב (tov). It means GOOD, but is sometimes translated as beautiful.

Sarah, in Genesis 12, is יָפֶה (yafeh), which is always BEAUTIFUL.