Genesis 27:1-29

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Today we return to the Jacob story where the drama centers around the word “blessing,” found seven times in our text. What does it mean to be “blessed”? The first thing God did after creating human life was to bless them:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen 1:28 esv)

To be blessed by God implies being infused with life that is abundant (“be fruitful and multiply and fill”) and victorious, overcoming resistance and evil (“subdue and have dominion”). As one scholar writes,

God’s blessing is his formative, empowering word (often, with overtones of appointing destiny). It is not an empty pronouncement or simply an expression of wish or goodwill, nor is it a bare command…Rather, the blessing of God has content; it actualizes and enables.1

God wants human beings to flourish, “like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaves do not wither, and all that it produces will flourish.” Despite man’s persistent rebellion in the opening chapters of Genesis, God set in motion his redemptive plan to bless the world through Abraham and his seed.

“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you. ” (Gen 12:1–3 niv)

What does it mean to be fully human? It is to be infused with life that serves and blesses others. Today we reach that sacred moment when Abraham’s chosen son Isaac will pass down the coveted blessing to the next generation. But what ought to be a holy celebration and witness of God’s goodness and grace, is hijacked by self-interest, deceit and manipulation. Everyone looks to the father to act as head of the home, but his passivity has made him a laughingstock. Far from being the spiritual leader, he uses this holy occasion to feed his own appetites. If he succeeds, he will place the family history at risk. At this feast there is no prayer, family unity or peace. Everyone arrives with a personal agenda and will stop at nothing to get what they want. All expressions of love are self-serving. Conversation is laced with deception, flattery, and blasphemy. Competition has created such a chasm that one half of the family can’t even speak to the other.

Many of us have had similar painful family dynamics. Celebratory gatherings can open up old wounds, reestablish pecking orders, and reawaken our deepest, unfulfilled longings for expressions of love. Even the best homes can contain controlling forces that run as deep as the family history. When the festivities end, we wonder if we will ever shake our childhood identities and be liberated from the competition for that ever-elusive family “blessing.” The surprise of our text is that these dynamics occur within Israel’s chosen family. Just one generation after Abraham, the chosen family’s spiritual life has almost completely deteriorated. Our text addresses the question: How will God intervene to further his kingdom when the chosen family has all but denied his presence?

I. Pre-game Preparations: Isaac and Esau (27:1–4)

1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Gen 27:1–4 esv)

Here you might ask, how can Esau expect t