One
day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son,
and said, “My son.”
“Yes,
Father?” Esau replied.
“I am
an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. Take your bow
and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild
game for me. Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I
will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I
die.”
But
Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to
hunt for the wild game, she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your
father say to Esau,‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal.Then
I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’
Now,
my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flocks, and bring
me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so
he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
“But
look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin
is smooth. What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick
him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”
But
his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell
you. Go out and get the goats for me!”
So
Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and
prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it.
Then
she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them
to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck
with the skin of the young goats. Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal,
including freshly baked bread.
So
Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.
“Yes,
my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
Jacob
replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the
wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”
Isaac
asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The
Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.
Then
Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you
really are Esau.” So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him.
“The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. But he did not
recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac
prepared to bless Jacob.“But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“Yes,
I am,” Jacob replied.
Then
Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I
will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate
it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said to Jacob,
“Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
So
Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,
he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son.
He
said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the
Lord has blessed!
“From
the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may
God always give you abundant harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
May
many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May
you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
All
who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”
As
soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his
father, Esau returned from his hunt. Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought
it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you
can give me your blessing.”
But
Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
Esau
replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”
Isaac
began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I
have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that
blessing must stand!”
When
Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father,
what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.
But
Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your
blessing.”
Esau
exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First
he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh,
haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
Isaac
said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his
brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and
wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?”
Esau
pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then
Esau broke down and wept.
Finally,
his father, Isaac, said to him,
“You
will live away from the richness of the earth,
and away from the dew of the heaven above.
You
will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But
when you decide to break free,
you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
From
that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the
blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death.
Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”
But
Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen,
Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. So listen carefully, my son.
Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. Stay there with him until
your brother cools off. When he calms down and forgets what you have done to
him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one
day?”
Then
Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I
would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.”
~
Source : Genesis 27:1-46 [Holy Bible -NLT] taken from
https://www.biblegateway.com
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