Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Isaac's Blessings

 

Hebrews 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

 

This account is taken from Genesis chapter 27. Isaac’s wife Rebekah gave birth to twin sons, Esau and Jacob, later to be renamed Israel by God. Esau was a rugged man that loved the outdoors and hunting and was, by all accounts, carnal in his thinking. 

The bizarre interaction between brothers over stew reveals in Esau a certain fixation on what immediately captures his senses, and is less concerned with abstract or far away things. Thus he sells his birthright to Jacob in a melodramatic fit of hunger for the sake of a bowl of stew. The scene concludes with the record stating, “Esau despised his birthright,” Genesis 25:34, see also Hebrews 12:16.

 

What was so important about the birthright? With the Semitic society of that time, it was intrinsically linked with God’s future blessing upon you and your progeny. Esau, renamed Edom, took no care for his spiritual future or blessing, as long as his carnal senses could seize upon immediate gratification. But let it not be said that Jacob was without fault, which we will discuss in the next verse more thoroughly, God willing.

 

When Isaac was quite old and uncertain about when he would die, he summoned Esau to bless him with the right of the firstborn, though he knew that God had already chosen Jacob for that honor, Genesis 27:1, 2, 25:23. However, Isaac was apparently partial to the wild game Esau hunted, and because of food, determined to give the blessing to him rather than Jacob, who enjoyed dwelling in tents, Genesis 25:27. It was a strange procession, seeing as how Isaac was mild like Jacob, but favored the son that was carnal. Again, while Jacob was mild tempered like Isaac, he was also a terrific schemer, and not only would deceive his own father and brother, but also his uncle Laban after he was virtually chased away for fear of being killed for practicing deception. More on this later.

 

Isaac’s portion in the history of the patriarchs is oddly brief, contrasted to his father Abraham’s role, and his son Jacob’s role, as far as what the Holy Spirit deemed fit to record for our edification. Genesis chapter 27 is a grievous chapter, filled with duplicity from both parents and Jacob, with Esau actually being the most honest, and generally the victim of Isaac’s misplaced favor and Rebekah’s scheming nature, which she passed on to Jacob. It is painful to read how each parent chose their favorite child, and while Jacob was cunning enough to practice deceit, Esau, while carnal, was also apparently simpler and more straightforward. He was summoned by Isaac, asked to procure food, and did as he was commanded. While Jacob valued the birthright, which he swindled Esau out of over a bowl of stew, he fell into the pit Abraham and Sarah had already wallowed in. For them it was siring an heir, which produced Ishmael, contrary to God’s blessing or involvement. For Jacob it was ensuring that what he had taken for himself he would receive, once again contrary to God’s blessing and involvement.

 

Regardless of how it came to pass, Isaac did indeed bless his sons concerning the future, beginning with Jacob. It must be noted that Isaac, being mostly blind and entirely tricked, gave Jacob the blessing he intended for Esau. The blessing was, “Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let the peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!” Genesis 27:28, 29.

 

The scope of the blessing is very inclusive. Worse, since this blessing was intended for Esau, Isaac was attempting to give God’s promises to the son that was rejected, as far as His plan of redemption was concerned, Malachi 1:2, 3, Romans 9:4, 5. Isaac usurped God’s prerogative, or tried to, when the Lord first told Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,” Genesis 12:3, KJV. Good blessing, wrong son. Isaac was aware of this and demonstrated favoritism that implied deliberate disobedience to God’s will. It is amazingly refreshing to see the saints depicted in the Bible as real, fallible, sinful men and women.

 

The term “saint” has been hijacked by the Roman Catholic Church to mean someone that behaves in a consistently holy and humanitarian manner, like Mother Theresa (though her conduct is still the subject of much debate). It suffered the same fate as the term “gentleman.” Once, a gentleman (whose etymology means “man of noble birth) simply meant a rich man that inherited a coat of arms: someone with affluence. Over time the term became synonymous with the preconceived depiction of how such gentlemen behaved outwardly. Thus, the term was not originally a compliment; it merely referred to one’s social strata, rather than ethical or moral behavior. But it was seemly for a man so privileged to behave a specific way, and so one’s conduct became gentlemanly, or similar to men that held the title; or at least how such men should behave according to public opinion. So it became with the word saint. One finds the term some 60 times in the New Testament alone. But the student of Scripture quickly discerns is that the word saint is a synonym of Christian, or believer. The word, like gentleman, does not denote conduct, but position. One cannot behave in a saintly manner, because it does not describe what you do; it is a descriptor that defines who you are, or rather, who you belong to.

 

Isaac also blessed Esau, but he understood that the words he spoke could not be revoked, lest he be found in the receiving position for the curse of maligning the heir of God’s redemptive plan. It is said that Esau sobbed before his father in a desperate bid to have the blessing given to him regardless, Genesis 27:38. While Esau was very quick (and truthful) in laying the blame at Jacob’s feet, notice that not once did he apologize or pray forgiveness for his carnal behavior in initially selling his birthright. The Holy Spirit reminds the reader that, “he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears,” Hebrews 12:17. The HCSB renders this verse, “he was rejected because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance, though he sought it with tears.” Though we will delve into this verse later, it must be noted that what he sought with tears was not repentance, but the inheritance of the blessing Jacob received. Scripture calls him profane, and it was at this point that Esau valued the blessing because the majority of the family’s wealth, by virtue of the blessing, goes to the successor. His tears may not seem to be ones of repentance or grief, but agitation or outright anger at Jacob’s duplicity, cheating him of what he believed he rightly deserved. Nonetheless, Isaac blessed his sons, and imparted to them things of the future, something Jacob would do in great detail a generation later.