Genesis 27:1-40 – One Mixed Up Family

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Genesis 27:1-40; October 11, 2026 – Sunday PM

One Mixed Up Family

Our last study in the book of Genesis covered Isaac’s dealings with Abimelech and it centered in large part over the issue of wells. Isaac moved around several times, digging wells, and finally was able to settle in Beersheba – the well of the oath.

Water was plenteous, and God repeated again to Isaac the promise He made with his father, Abraham.

God has promised that He would bless Isaac and that blessing would now be passed down through his youngest son, Jacob.

This meant that Esau, the oldest, would be bypassed.

In the famous interaction between the two sons, we saw Jacob ask Esau for the birthright as payment for his lentil soup. Ravished, vulnerable, and being extremely unwise, he sells it to his brother.

Owning the birthright was only part of the puzzle, as dad still had to confirm that by extending formally to his son the blessing.

The drama of how that unfolds is before us tonight as we look at Genesis 27 in what I am calling One Mixed Up Family! Pray.

27:1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

According to Genesis 35:28, Isaac lives to be 180 years old. We also know, comparing the ages that are given in Genesis, that when Esau and Jacob were 40 years old, Isaac was 100 years old. In Genesis 26:34 we see that Esau was 40 years old when he married those two Hittite girls. Thus, Isaac was somewhere between 100 and 180 here.

I’m sure if we asked Russ or others in the eye business, we might presume that Isaac had gotten cataracts or some such thing as he aged.

We’ll see in Genesis 48:10 that Jacob (Israel) will also have the same problem at the end of his life.

Isaac’s dim eyes will be an important part of this story.

And so Isaac calls Esau his son, he responds, and then he asks him to go out and make one of those delicious meals as in the past.

But notice, it was not just so he could enjoy a meal, but so that he could also bless Esau before he died.

Whether Isaac had forgotten or whether he was trying to make up for what Esau had sold, this conversation did not square with what God said.

We know that Jacob had purchased the birthright from Esau and no doubt that was common knowledge in the family. Perhaps Isaac’s mind was also cloudy, and so he makes this comment to Esau.

But of course, it was a conversation that was overheard, just as we remember Sarah doing in Genesis 18:10 to the visitors who had come.

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son.

Mom was keeping a close watch over this situation because the LORD had told her, back when she was pregnant, that the future of her sons would be reversed from the conventional norms. She knew that the older – Esau – would serve the younger – Jacob.

She had also grown closely to Jacob in a way that will come out in this situation. Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. Yes, we should love our children, but not one more than the other.

She should have said that Isaac was one of her two favorite sons.

And so Rebekah hears Isaac’s plans which were not in line with what God had said. The story continues:

And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.

Esau is off hunting and is doing what dad asked, but now the discussion between Mom and Jacob is noted:

6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

Obviously, Rebekah is very concerned that her husband is about to bless the wrong child. Thus, she comes up with this plan to create a situation where Isaac will bless Jacob instead of Esau.

She recognizes the importance of these blessings – ‘in the presence of the LORD’ as she quoted her husband as saying.

And so she commands her son to obey her voice and to sabotage essentially the plan that Isaac had for Esau.

We are not told that Jacob knows of Esau’s plans at this point. Perhaps for all that Jacob knew, this was just going to be that moment in his life when dad will bless him. Perhaps this was a request that Jacob had fulfilled many times before, and this was portrayed as maybe his last opportunity.

He is probably aware that something is happening here, and so he responds to his mother:

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

You get the sense here that he did know that mom’s idea was to deceive, and Jacob raises a very practical matter about the difference. If Dad touches me, Jacob argues, then he will not bless but rather curse. This stunt will backfire, and instead of the receiving a blessing, he will receive a curse. Mom responds:

13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

She says she will take the hit. His only action is to obey her and bring her the animals so she can make this dish. She is really focused here on making this happen according to her plans.

We should obey our parents, right? Is this a time, however, when Jacob should have done something different?

Now by logic, we could say that God did promise Jacob the birthright and blessing, but dad here is about to give it to Esau. Perhaps this is how God is going to get his promise fulfilled?

We have that wonderful convergence here of God’s promises and sovereignty up against the actions of humanity. Of course, every page of scripture illustrates this, but it seems to stand out here.

Jacob responds:

14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

Food is made, now to implement the clothing scheme:

15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

It’s like Halloween here as mom dresses up Jacob like Esau. As we read this, this seems to be solely Rebekah’s plan. She is the primary subject here, though son Jacob is going along with it.

And so there he is, Jacob all decked out like Esau complete with costume and savory food.

18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

And so Jacob approaches his father and straight out lies. He claims to be Esau and then he claims to have retrieved that game for the savory meal he wanted to enjoy as the setting for the blessing. Jacob is focusing on that important detail: the blessing.

After hearing this, Isaac is puzzled:

20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

Another lie – blaming God for such a speedy and successful hunting trip.

It is perverted to credit God for your success when you are living in disobedience. This illustrates for me a twisted mindset of Jacob, caught in the middle of a lie that has been pushed upon him by his mother. This is to take advantage also of an older person who is not physically able to comprehend or grasp all that is happening.

Mom’s plan to dress up Jacob in Esau-like hair now pays off, so to speak:

21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

Isaac was not absolutely sure, but he felt the hair and tasted the food and concluded probably with some reluctance that this was Esau. He did sense that it was Jacob’s voice, but he could not figure it out.

Again, this is abuse toward someone who is not fully capable of knowing what was happening.

And so Isaac blessed Jacob. No details are noted here about what that blessing was, but soon we will get more details.

The point here is that Isaac was tricked and thus gave to Jacob the blessing.

Even after blessing Jacob initially, notice he still is not sure and so he now tests the food:

24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”

He again lied, but after tasting the food – which Rebekah had made – he gives up any concern and blesses him. He calls Jacob close and wants to kiss him and then give to him the specifics of the blessing. As he does this, it also gives Isaac one more layer of false authenticity through another sense: the nose:

27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

“Surely, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field

Which the Lord has blessed.

28 Therefore may God give you

Of the dew of heaven,

Of the fatness of the earth,

And plenty of grain and wine.

29 Let 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!”

These are the words of blessing Isaac gave thinking it was to Esau.

That idea alone is a big issue. Did Isaac really believe what God had said earlier? Was He trying to change the promise of God through his favorite son?

If Isaac truly believed what God had said, he would not have been giving this to Esau. But here he is, giving the blessing to Jacob. He smells Esau’s clothing that has been put on Jacob, and he is convinced, and so he gushes with the blessing.

What a wonderful blessing he gives – the promises of God that were given to Abraham, to Isaac, and now … Esau? Or so Isaac thinks.

Clearly the reversal that God told Rebekah during his pregnancy is now being passed along to Jacob. The older will serve the younger. Those who bless, God will bless, and so forth. It is a retelling in many ways of the Abrahamic promise.

The words of the blessing are truly wonderful as they do echo what God had said. But what is disgusting is the context in which Isaac is giving it. There is Jacob dressed up in a costume to imitate Esau. Esau is off hunting, excited that dad is going to bless him and not his weasel brother Jacob.

Notice now the timing of all of this. Esau returns:

30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

You can see this unfolding in your mind. Esau is back, excited to make dad his favorite dish so that he can bless him. He is motivated to get this done, and so he prepares the food, brings it to dad, and calls him to eat and bless him. Esau is excited.

32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”

Oh boy. Esau’s day went from good to immediately bad. Isaac is shaken by this as he explains what happened and confirmed that the one he blessed would indeed be blessed. It was not revocable.

Stop and think about Isaac’s state of mind right about now. He is confused, upset, and now he has a son, Esau, who is going to fall apart.

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

Esau’s world has collapsed. He thought he was going to receive that wonderful blessing, but it was not to be. Somehow both Esau and Isaac put two and two together and recognized that Jacob had tricked them. Isaac sees it as Jacob taking away Esau’s blessing.

Esau pipes in:

36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!”

At birth, both received names from dad and mom that reflected what they saw. Esau was named because of his appearance. Jacob was so named because of what he was doing – grabbing hold of Esau’s heel. Now Esau sees Jacob as having grown into his name as the supplanter, the one who supersedes or replaces another.

Yes, Jacob has taken away the blessing and birthright, but were they really Esau’s to begin with? Were they not the inheritance that God was going to give to Jacob right from the start? In raising these questions, though, I am not at all suggesting that Jacob and Rebekah’s game-plan was honoring to the Lord.

Esau is still talking to his dad, and continues in the latter part of verse 36:

And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

Esau would serve Jacob and the transaction has been done. Esau is grasping here, and so he continues:

38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Esau was a wreck here as he cries out and begs his father for what he now can’t have. He wants, he wants, and so he begs for one blessing.

Isaac responds with a blessing of sorts for him:

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,

And of the dew of heaven from above.

40 By your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,

That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

This “blessing” from Isaac is mixed. He is assured of being sustained by the earth and heaven, both produce and the continual moisture from heaven, but his life would be a life of survival. He would live by the sword and would serve his younger brother, Jacob.

In time, we recognize that Esau’s land will be Edom, that wilderness land that epitomizes the life of the outcast and survivalists.

The last part seems to recognize that at some point Esau would say “enough” and he would break free from this partnership of sorts. He is depicted as an animal that is wild and not to be tamed and used as the yoke depicts.

As we read this, we think back to the promise of God to Hagar regarding Ishmael. He was not the promised son, as Isaac would be, but Ishmael was given a promise that is similar. Ishmael was to be a wild man and he would be at odds with everyone else, living close to his brothers whom he would be in constant conflict.

It is as if he will be that proverbial desert donkey as was told also to Ishmael (16:12).

This promise seems very similar. Ironically, this promise to Esau is given by the son of promise, Isaac.

And so Isaac has been tricked. Rebekah has led in the hoax, and Esau has become infuriated. The story continues in verse 41, but we’ll pick up there next time.

Summary

Isaac and Rebekah illustrate a couple, a family, that is quite mixed up. We don’t have many stories recorded about this family, but the ones in scripture illustrate their problems.

Isaac loves Esau. Rebekah loves Jacob. Jacob took advantage of his situation and bought Esau’s birthright. Now we see Rebekah and Jacob colluding to trick elderly Isaac into blessing Jacob.

In the end we might say it all worked. Favoritism, trickery, lies all worked.

Is this how God intended it to unfold?

Clearly, God allowed it to transpire, but I do not take these accounts as patterns to follow to accomplish the Lord’s work.

Do I go into a bookstore and steal bibles so that I might give them away in my evangelistic work?

How often do we go ahead of God with the view that we are going to “make happen” what God has promised He will do? He tells us to ask for wisdom in James 1, but how often do we really doubt? He tells us to cry out to Him in trouble, but how often do we get on the phone and pass along news?

Here is an observation that we can glean from this story. We should never seek to accomplish in our own way an outcome that God has promised will take place, especially when it intolves trickery, deception, and lies.

Did God promise to Rebekah and Isaac that their older would serve the younger? Did God promise to Abraham that His promise would go through Isaac? Did God promise directly to Isaac that the blessing would continue through him, and yet continue in the particulars that He indicated – through Jacob, not Esau?

Then why did Isaac seem to ignore that as he favored Esau? Why did Rebekah believe she had to work this deceptive plan to accomplish what God had already indicated He would do?

In spite of all of our maneuvering, God’s promise will always be accomplished. We are still responsible for our actions. Let us always be diligent to hear and heed God’s truth. We should simply do what He says, and leave the outcome to Him.

Next time we’ll see how Esau and Jacob respond to all of this.