The Prophetic Blessings of Isaac's Sons, Ongoing Tension Still Seen Today

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 27:1) And it came to pass that when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his oldest son and said to him, "My son", and he said to him, "Here I am."

Isaac had grown old and his eyes were blind.  By this time, Esau had probably been married to the Hittite women for some time, marriages which were grievous to Isaac and Rebekah, so I don't believe they would be living in Isaac's household.  They may have lived close by, but regardless, Isaac called for Esau, his oldest son.

(2) And 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 take me venison. (4) And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."

Isaac told Esau that he was old and didn't know when he might die.  He asked Esau to go hunting and bring back and prepare the meat, as Isaac loved.  Isaac had already stated that he didn't know how much longer he would live, so the real purpose in this was to bless his oldest son, but he would enjoy doing it after a meal like he had always enjoyed from his son, the hunter.  In Biblical times, the parental blessing bestowed on their children near the parents' time of death was an important one, and godly men often did it under a spirit of prophecy, declaring their children's future.

(5) And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt venison and to bring it. (6) And Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, (7) 'Bring me venison and make me savory meat that I may eat, and bless you before the LORD before my death.'"

Rebekah overheard when Isaac spoke to Esau.  It was more than likely by design, rather than by accident, and she eavesdropped.  She may have seen Issac calling for his oldest son and made it a point to hear what he wanted.  She called Jacob and told him what she had overheard.

(8) "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. (9) Go now to the flock and bring me from there two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savory meat for your father, such as he loves. (10) And you will bring it to your father, that he may eat, and that he may bless you before his death."

After telling Jacob what she overheard his father say to Esau, Rebekah instructed him on what she wanted him to do.  She presented it as a command and told him to obey her.  She told him to go to the flock and get two kid goats, as that would be faster than Esau could hunt down game.  She would then prepare the meat as Isaac loved and Jacob would take it to his father and receive his father's blessing.  This cannot be condoned as righteous behavior.  It had been prophesied to Rebekah that her oldest son would serve her younger, but once again, we have a case of people feeling they have to help God bring the prophecy to fulfillment.  Prophecy of future events tells us what will happen, good or bad.  It cannot be said that God willed it to happen by deceit.  God saw future events and foretold them.  If, as in the case of the birth of a son to Abraham, it was God's will, then God was perfectly able to perform what He had promised.

(11) And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. (12) My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing."

Jacob objected to his mother's commandment.  Whether it was out of conscience or fear, he told his mother he didn't think her plan would work.  Maybe Isaac couldn't see, but he would certainly be able to tell by feeling that Jacob was not Esau.  I thought the wording "I shall seem...as a deceiver" was funny; he IS a deceiver if he follows through with this plan.  But the point is that his father would see him as the deceiver he was and, as we'll see written in the laws later, a man who purposely led a blind man astray was to be cursed (Deut. 27:18)

(13) And his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch them for me."

Rebekah insisted that Jacob obey her and told him she would bear all responsibility and punishment.  It may be that she felt very secure in the prophesy that she had received that Esau would serve Jacob, that she did not at all fear a curse, but I am quite sure that God did not instruct her in this deception.  This she did of herself.

(14) And he went and fetched and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved. (15) And Rebekah took choice clothes of her oldest 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) And she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Jacob went and brought the two kids from the flock and his mother prepared them the way Isaac loved.  To complete the deception, she took some of Esau's clothes that she had in her possession and the skins of the kids and put them on Jacob to make him feel and perhaps smell like Esau.  She gave him the meal she had prepared.

(18) And he came to his father and said, "My father", and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?"

Perhaps Isaac was expecting Esau and since it didn't sound like Esau, he asked who it was.  I have to believe his sons must have sounded a little alike, or else he surely would have known right away it was his son Jacob.

(19) And Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done accordingly as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me." (20) And 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."

Even though his mother insisted Jacob play in this deception, he can in no way be excused from lying.  He didn't merely play the part; he outright lied to his father when he told him he was Esau.  When Isaac wondered how he could have found his game so quickly, Jacob even said the Lord brought it to him!  How could a righteous man bring the name of the Lord into his deliberate lie?  The only way I can resolve that is to think that he must have truly believed, as did his mother, that it was God's will that he become the heir to his father's blessing.  That is not to condone his behavior in any way!  God did not need his help in this and God certainly would never condone lying, but maybe in Jacob's heart, he did not see it as blatantly evil as it could be interpreted to one reading about the deceptive trickery to a blind man.  Thankfully, the Lord judges our hearts in our actions as we humans often screw up!  That doesn't mean there won't be consequences to our wrong actions, but God graciously judges our hearts and motives.  Of course, that means He judges our motives when we do something good, as well, to see if there was truly good in our hearts, or if we are doing it to bring glory to ourselves.

(21) And Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are my very son Esau or not."

I always found this scripture a bit odd.  The way it is worded, it's as if Isaac suspects trickery.  I always wondered why he would suspect he was being deceived.  He's already asked who it was and received an answer that confirmed something that he had said to Esau, something he would have thought no one else would have heard, but he was still not sure it was really Esau and wanted to feel him to be certain.  Was there so much trickery in and around this household that he suspected it now?  Maybe there was a constant tension between his sons as Jacob strove to be first.  Esau may have felt tricked over selling his birthright and may have made that known.  Or maybe it's simply that even though the man said he was Esau, it just didn't sound like him, and being unable to see, Isaac would feel more comfortable having his son close to him so that he might touch him and feel confident.

(22) And 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."

So it seems Isaac did suspect it was Jacob, even though Jacob had said he was Esau.  Does that mean he would have suspected Jacob of lying to him?  Maybe he didn't give it that much thought.  Perhaps he was just confused because the man sounded like Jacob, and he just wanted confirmation that it really was Esau.

(23) And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

Thus Isaac did not recognize that this was Jacob.  If he had been confused, feeling the hairy hands confirmed it for him that this must be Esau.  It was more rational to believe that Esau's voice was a bit altered for whatever reason than to believe that Jacob had suddenly grown hair.  So he blessed Jacob, as detailed in the next few verses.

(24) And he said, "Are you my very son Esau?" And he said, "I am."

Was Isaac still not 100% sure?  You would think he would not bless Jacob if he suspected trickery, but perhaps this was just a sort of rhetorical question meant to be confirmation after he had felt his son.

(25) And he said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, so that my soul may bless you." And he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. (26) And his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son." (27) And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothing and blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed."

Isaac ate his son's meal, and then asked his son to come near and kiss him.  When he felt him earlier, Jacob apparently did not come close enough for his father to really smell of his clothing; perhaps he had just reached out his hairy hands.  But now Isaac smelled the clothes of his son the hunter and began his blessing.

(28) "Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. (29) Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you; be lord over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you; cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be he who blesses you."

Isaac continued his blessing.  The dew of heaven would represent blessings from heaven or blessings from God.  Jacob would be blessed by God and blessed with plenty from the earth.  People and nations of people would serve Jacob.  He would have dominion over his brethren, plural, probably meaning Esau and his posterity and his mother's sons being his mother's people, perhaps sons of her brother Laban.  More than power to Jacob, this blessing is a prophecy of the coming Messiah before whom all kings will fall down and all nations will serve (Psalm 72:11).  Blessing those who bless him, and cursing those who curse him, is a reiteration of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them who bless you, and curse him who curses you, and in you will all families of the earth be blessed". 

(30) And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of 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) And he also had made savory meat, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."

Jacob had received his blessing, the blessing Isaac meant for his firstborn, Esau, and he had left.  Then the real Esau came in from hunting and presented the meal his father had requested of him.

(32) And Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."

No doubt this greatly surprised Isaac.  He had finally been satisfied that he had previously been with Esau, and then here came someone who surely sounded more like him.

(33) And Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said, "Who? Where is he who has taken venison and brought it to me? And I have eaten all of it before you came, and I have blessed him, and indeed he shall be blessed."

Isaac trembled exceedingly, obviously very distraught over what he at that point realized must have happened.  He quickly spurted out questions about who and where was the person he had just blessed, although he probably knew that it was Jacob.  Isaac obviously knew the blessing he had pronounced upon Jacob had come from the Holy Spirit when he said, "...indeed he shall be blessed".  Otherwise, he could have changed his blessing.

(34) And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, me also, O my father!"

The original words for "cried" and "cry" used here literally mean "shriek".  Esau screamed in bitter anger upon hearing the words of his father that someone else had received the blessing meant for him.  He asked his father to bless him also.

(35) And he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing."

Isaac undoubtedly was moved by the great disappointment of Esau at having lost his blessing.  He explained that it was Jacob's fault, that he had deceived Isaac and had taken away his blessing.

(36) And he 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." And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

This scripture shows that Esau indeed still felt some hostility over being robbed of his birthright, although in that case, there was no deceit, and Esau gave up his birthright willingly; but it is true that Jacob used Esau's hunger and weakened state to his advantage.  Esau asked if Jacob was not rightly named, as "Jacob" means "supplanter".  To "supplant" another is to put a foot under the heel of the other in order to trip him up, or in a figural sense, to trip him up by fraud or trickery.  Now Esau felt that Jacob had robbed him twice, and he asked his father if there wasn't any blessing left for him.

(37) And Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your lord, and all his brethren I have given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what shall I do now for you, my son?"

The language Isaac used to tell Esau of the blessing he had bestowed on Jacob shows that he had surely been speaking prophetically by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise Isaac's words alone would not have been enough to will anything to happen.  But now that these prophetic words have been spoken and bestowed upon Jacob, Isaac can't see anything left for Esau.  Jacob will have dominion over others, even nations, and over Esau himself and his posterity; and he will be rich in heavenly and earthly blessings; what else is there, Isaac wondered.

(38) And Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Esau openly wept to his father, and one might think he was genuine in his disappointment over not receiving his father's blessing.  Perhaps on one level he was genuinely sorrowful, but not for the right reasons.  We must remember that it was Esau who willingly gave up his birthright when things got a little tough.  In the New Testament, that episode is recounted in Hebrews 12:16-17:

"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.  For you know that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

Esau probably cried real tears over losing his father's blessing, but it was probably more for selfish reasons over the loss of something he would have received, rather than repentance for something he had done wrong in rejecting his birthright which led up to this current event. 

(39) And Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. (40) And by your sword you will live, and will serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you will have the dominion, that you will break his yoke from off your neck."

Isaac did find a blessing for Esau, and once again, we can assume it was given by the Holy Spirit of God, because if it was a spoken wish of a loving father, I'm sure he could have come up with something more pleasant sounding.  Isaac told Esau that he would dwell in the plenty of the earth and where blessings come from heaven, but as God would send these blessings of plenty to Jacob, Esau would receive them only because he dwelt in the area of the blessings given to Jacob.  Esau would live by the sword, which may mean that he would live in violence and war, but it may have also referred to the fact he was a hunter and lived by killing his prey.  And he would serve his brother, but there would come a time when his people would have some dominion and power in the world, and then they would revolt from the posterity of Jacob and would break that yoke of bondage.  Albert Barnes wrote succinctly about this in his Notes on the Bible:

"The history of Edom was a perpetual struggle against the supremacy of Israel. Conquered by Saul, subdued by David, repressed by Solomon, restrained after a revolt by Amaziah, they recovered their independence in the time of Ahab."

Actually, the struggles between the descendants of Jacob and the descendants of Esau continue to this day.  There are differing opinions about exactly whom each are in our present day, but no one can deny the constant Middle East unrest that always centers around tiny Israel!  And just think how the actions of Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah (and Jacob), being impatient with God, may have created all the unrest of today!

(41) And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will slay my brother Jacob."

Esau hated Jacob because of the blessings each had received.  Hatred is not the stuff of repentant hearts, so this does show the nature of Esau.  It also shows what happens when we seek to do things our own way instead of God's way.  Because of the way Jacob did things in deceiving Esau, Esau now wanted to kill him.  He wouldn't do it while Isaac was still alive, but he knew his father's days were not long for the world, and he would wait till then.

(42) And these words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by purposing to kill you."

The scripture before this one had said that Esau said these things in his heart, but he must have voiced them to someone or at least in earshot of someone who told his intentions to Rebekah.  She told Jacob of his brother's plans.  If this is a true report of Esau's thoughts and intentions, then we once again see the nature of Esau, in that he would not gain anything in the death of Jacob, but he comforted himself with his thoughts of revenge against him.

(43) "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. (44) And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, (45) Until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and fetch you from there; why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?"

Rebekah told Jacob to obey her again and run to her brother Laban in Haran and stay with him a few days until Esau's anger subsided, until he forgot what "you" have done.  Of course, it was Jacob who ultimately deceived his father into giving him the blessing Isaac intended for Esau, but it was Rebekah's idea and she insisted Jacob obey her then, too.  And now her son had to flee for his life because of it.  It was always a prophetic fact that Jacob would receive the spiritual Abrahamic blessing of the coming Messiah, and Rebekah probably felt that strongly within her heart, but like in the actions of Sarah with Hagar, when we don't wait upon the Lord, we can make matters worse than they had to be.  Rebekah would be deprived of both her sons if one killed the other and the first was put to death for murder.

(46) And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?"

This is the set-up of Rebekah's plan to get Jacob away from there.  She told Isaac she could not take it if Jacob married a daughter of Heth as his brother had done.  There was probably some truth to this as the end of the last chapter had said that Isaac and Rebekah were both grieved because Esau had married Hittite women, so now was as good a time as any to get Jacob out of there.

Now Isaac is Heir to the Promise

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 26:1) And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. (2) And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down into Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you."

The first famine referred to here is from Genesis 12:10, when Abraham was still Abram, and he "went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land."  However, God told Isaac not to go to Egypt, so we might assume he was on his way there, as his father had gone.  It appears he had gone as far as Gerar when God told him not to go to Egypt.  This Abimelech was probably a son of the Abimelech who was king during Abraham's time.

(3) "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and to your seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. (4) And I will make your seed multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to your seed all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (5) Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

God told Isaac to dwell in this land, the land of Canaan, of which Gerar was a part, and repeated His promise to Abraham now to Isaac, that He would give him all these countries, inhabited at that time by the Canaanites and the Philistines.  God told Isaac as He had told Abraham before him that He would multiply his descendants as the stars in heaven, and through his descendants ALL the nations of the earth would be blessed, which is most assuredly a reference to the Messiah who would come from his descendants.  This promise is for Isaac, too, because his father Abraham had first obeyed the Lord and kept His charge, or whatever he was given to be in charge of or observe.  It's interesting that God mentioned three different things that sound and seem essentially the same.  A commandment is a law or ordinance that was commanded, and Strong's defines the original word used here for "law" as "precept" or "statute", which brings us to "statute", the original meaning of the word being "ordinance" or "appointment", but also "custom" or "manner".  It is the way of God to repeat things two or three times because that is how a thing is firmly established, but it may be that these words had slightly different significances.  There were natural laws of God, as laws of nature, that just were and are; there were customs; there were those things which were commanded outright; and Abraham was obedient in all, and therefore the promise was being passed down to Isaac.

(6) And Isaac dwelt in Gerar; (7) And the men of the place asked about his wife; and he said, "She is my sister"; for he feared to say, "She is my wife", lest, said he, "the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she was fair to look upon."

It's almost unbelievable that Isaac should do exactly the same thing as his father in the same place!  Isaac, as his father before him, feared, rather than trusting in the Lord who told him to stay there.  In their fear, they even exposed their wives to harm and shame.  It seems like an odd thing to be duplicated, so I suppose this could be an illustration of how we can inherit bad traits and habits.  We are certainly born into sin and our natures are sinful.  The Bible is full of messy sinful people who, despite their natures, circumstances, and surroundings, followed God.  It should be very encouraging to us when we read of the flawed people God loved and blessed.

(8) And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. (9) And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, "Behold, surely she is your wife; so how could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die for her.'"

As always, our lies catch up with us, and Abimelech accidentally saw Isaac laughing and playing with Rebekah, obviously a little too familiarly to be brother and sister.  He called Isaac and asked why he would lie about his relationship with Rebekah.  Unlike his father who could claim that his wife really was a sister, Isaac had to admit to lying and explained why.  He was afraid that someone would kill him to have Rebekah!

(10) And Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guiltiness on us."

This question of this Abimelech echoes the one asked by the first Abimelech of Abraham.  Why would Isaac do such a thing to them?  Either because he recognized God's blessing on Isaac, or because he himself recognized adultery as sinful, or maybe a little of both, Abimelech knew Isaac's lie made it easier for his men to sin against God unknowingly.

(11) And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

As soon as Abimelech discovered that Rebekah was Isaac's wife, he ordered the people of his kingdom not to touch Isaac or Rebekah, either one, or else pay by penalty of death.

(12) Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. (13) And the man became great, and went forward and grew until he became very great; (14) For he had possession of flocks and possession of herds and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.

So Isaac stayed there at Gerar and sowed in that land, and being blessed by God, reaped 100 times what he sowed.  Isaac had already been given all that his father Abraham had and continued to grow and became very great and propserous, and the Philistines envied him.

(15) For all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them and filled them with earth.

This may mean the Philistines stopped up all the wells Abraham had previously dug because they were envious and wanted to cause harm to Isaac.  However, it had occurred during the time of Abraham as well (Genesis 21:25), so it appears the envy and retaliation was an ongoing problem.

(16) And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go from us, for you are much mightier than we."

Whether it was a mere suggestion because of the Philistines' envy and as a solution to the problem of the jealous people stopping up his wells, or a banishment command because Isaac had grown so large that there was reason to fear him, Isaac was sent away from there.  Perhaps it was a little of both.  Perhaps because Isaac had become so great, Abimelech feared what would happen if Isaac decided to retaliate against the jealous Philistines.

(17) And Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

Isaac left Gerar and dwelt in the valley of Gerar, so he may have left the city of Gerar and dwelt in the valley.  However, with so many flocks and herds, I can't imagine him in the midst of the city.  I believe that the word "nachal" translated as "valley" here, may be better defined as a "stream or river" in this case.  Indeed that translation is used elsewhere in scripture, maybe even more often than as "valley".  So as a river named for a city often travels well out of the city and sometimes even into another country, I think it can be assumed Isaac moved well away from where he had been.

(18) And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

These appear to be the same wells mentioned in verse 15 that Abraham's servants had dug and that the Philistines had stopped.  Isaac again dug the wells and called them by the names his father had called them.

(19) And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of running water. (20) And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours", and he called the name of the well Esek, because they strove with him.

Then it appears Isaac dug another well and found running water, but the herdsmen of Gerar claimed it was theirs, striving, that is, probably arguing with words, rather than striving physically.  I say that because if Isaac were truly mightier than them all, I wouldn't think they would pick physical fights.  Therefore Isaac called the name of the well "Esek", which literally means "strife" or "contention".

(21) And they dug another well, and strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Isaac dug another well and had to strive over that one, as well.  He named that one "Sitnah", which literally means "strife" from what I see in Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs; however, some of the scholars of old wrote that it actually meant "hatred".  Dr. John Gill wrote that "sitnah" comes from the root word, "satan", which means "attack" or "accuse", and of course, it's from that word that Satan got his name.

(22) And he moved from there and dug another well, and for that they did not strive, and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

It does seems that Isaac was of a peaceful sort.  When he dug a well that was in controversy, he named it so, and moved on.  He finally dug a well we can assume in a place far enough away that it was not in contention, and he named that one "Rehoboth", which literally means "wide places or streets" or "spaciousness".  Here he proclaimed that the Lord had made room for him and his family, and his flocks and herds, and that they would increase and be prosperous.

(23) And he went up from there to Beersheba. (24) And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father; do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your seed for My servant Abraham's sake."

Then Isaac went or returned to Beersheba, as that was the place of his father, named by Abraham meaning "well of an oath", where he had dug the well and made the agreement with Abimelech that this was indeed his well (Genesis 21).  Immediately upon returning, God appeared to Isaac and reassured him that he was with him and reiterated his promise to Abraham and to him.

(25) And he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there, and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

So it appears that Isaac planned to stay there after receiving confirmation and reassurance from the Lord.  He pitched his tent and his servants dug a well.  He also built an altar and prayed to the Lord, undoubtedly in thanksgiving to Him.

(26) Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

Interestingly, here came the next generation of Abimelech, at least I am assuming the son of the Abimelech who first swore the oath to Abraham there at Beersheba.  With him came his friend, and also Phichol, the chief captain of his army.  It was said Phichol was also the first Abimelech's chief captain, so is this the same Phichol some hundred years later, or also a son named after his father?  Actually, as "Phichol" means "mouth of all", perhaps that was the name of his position rather than his given name, as he was perhaps a spokesman for all the people to the king.

(27) And Isaac said to them, "Why do you come to me, seeing you hate me and have sent me away from you?" 

Isaac wondered why they had come to him, citing specifically that they hate him, giving credence to the opinion of ancient scholars that the name of the afore-mentioned well, "Sitnah", did indeed mean "hatred".

(28) And they said, "We saw certainly that the LORD was with you, and we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between us and you; and let us make a covenant with you, (29) That you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace; you are now the blessed of the LORD.'"

They responded that they could plainly see that the Lord was with Isaac and had greatly blessed him, and they didn't want to be at odds with him.  So this Abimelech, as his father before him with Abraham, also requested a covenant between his people and Isaac's.  Abimelech and his men admitted they may have sent him away, but they wanted to stress that it was in peace; no harm was done to Isaac personally.  Abimelech wanted an oath from Isaac that he, in turn, would not harm them.

(30) And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. (31) And they rose up early in the morning and swore one to the other; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

After eating and drinking and sleeping on it, they did indeed swear an oath to have peace among them, and Isaac sent them on their way. 

(32) And it came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." (33) And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Apparently, this is the well that the servants dug in verse 25.  "Shebah" means "oath" or "seven", the "sacred full one", which gave the sense of fullness or completeness.  Therefore the city was called Beersheba "to this day" because Isaac renewed the "well of the oath" that Abraham had so named a hundred years earlier.  The oath was renewed and confirmed.

(34) And Esau was forty years old when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, (35) Which were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

Esau married Canaanite women, troubling to Isaac and Rebekah, because they would not have wanted either of their sons to marry the pagan women of the land, but would have wished for God's people, as when Abraham sent his servant to look for a wife for Isaac.

Genesis 25: Priorities and Choices and How You Can Overcome Your Lot in Life (or Reject It!)

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 25:1) Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. (2) And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (3) And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. (4) And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

"THEN" Abraham took a wife, obviously after the death of Sarah and probably after the marriage of Isaac, as well.  Keturah gave Abraham six more sons in his very old age, it would seem at first glance.  Obviously, she could have been much younger than Abraham, but we were told earlier in scripture that Abraham's body was dead when Sarah conceived Isaac, and that he was very old and well stricken with age when his servant went to find a wife for Isaac.  I have to believe as some of the old Bible scholars suggest that Keturah was a concubine and bore children much earlier in life, while Sarah was alive, and she became Abraham's wife after the death of Sarah.  Later in scripture, in 1 Chronicles 1:32, Keturah is called his concubine.  She was a concubine who probably gave him these children earlier, and became his wife at this time after the death of Sarah.

(5) And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

Isaac was Abraham's only begotten son of his wife, Sarah, and the heir to the promise, and Abraham had given him all he had, especially his right to the land of Canaan, and his "flocks, herds, silver, gold, menservants, maidservants, camels, and donkeys", as had been reported by his servant to Rebekah's family.  However, Abraham must have reserved some for himself, as he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines:

(6) But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he yet lived, sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward to the east country.

Abraham remembered his other sons, these sons of Keturah above mentioned, as well as Hagar's son Ishmael.  While he was still living, to avoid disputes after his death, he gave his sons their inherited gifts and sent all his other sons eastward away from his son, Isaac.  The land of promise was to be only Isaac's.

(7) And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. (8) Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Abraham gave up the ghost, or breathed his last breath and died at 175 years of age, "in a good old age".  While that seems quite old in our day and age, Adam Clarke in his "Commentary on the Bible", points out that Abraham died at the youngest age of all the patriarchs.  That word "good" is not to be interpreted to mean that Abraham lived to an extremely old age, but that it was a good and full age.  His life had been full and satisfying and he was ready to depart this world.  He died at a good age, not having to endure a total decrepitness of mind and body.  Being gathered to one's people was probably a way of saying that he joined those ancestors who went before him in death.  There was much discussion in the old commentaries about the exact meaning of the phrase because surely Abraham wasn't literally gathered to his ancestors who were buried in Chaldea and not in Canaan, nor did it mean he was gathered to Sarah who was alone in a cave.  Some said it meant he was "gathered to the spirits of just men made perfect".  More recent scholars really make a big deal of the wording "was gathered" as opposed to other places where a person "shall be gathered" as if to say this proves whether we go to heaven when we die or wait to be resurrected at the end.  I have to believe this was just a saying and it meant Abraham went the way of death as all his people before him went.

(9) And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre, (10) The field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

Even though Ishmael and his mother had been sent away from Abraham's family, the brothers came together at this time to bury their father in the cave in the field Abraham had previously purchased when he needed a place to bury Sarah.

(11) And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai Roi. 

God blessed Abraham's son Isaac, the heir to the promise of God.  Isaac lived by the well Lahai Roi, which was the same as Beer Lahai Roi, the place where the angel of the Lord came to Hagar and told her about the son she was carrying.  

(12) Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bore to Abraham: (13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, (14) And Mishma, Dumah, and Massa, (15) Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. (16) These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns and by their castles, twelve princes according to their nations.

Ishmael had twelve sons, heads of twelve tribes of the Arab nation.  God had promised Hagar that He would bless Ishmael and make him fruitful, and that he would beget twelve princes and become a great nation (Genesis 17:20), and so it was.  Many of these sons, or princes, will be mentioned later in the Bible.  Nebajoth and Kedar are mentioned in Isaiah.  I have read that in old Jewish writings, the Arabic language is most frequently called the language of Kedar.  Dumah is a place mentioned in Isaiah and was probably named after Ishmael's son.  Interestingly, Tema and Temanites were mentioned in Job, meaning that, chronologically, I should have been studying Abraham before Job!  Jetur and Naphish are mentioned in 1 Chronicles as part of the Hagarites who warred against the Israelites.  The descendants of Kedemah may have lived at Kedemoth, a place mentioned in Deuteronomy.

(17) And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years, and he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered to his people. (18) And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, that is before Egypt as you go toward Assyria; and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

Ishmael lived to 137 years of age, and also gave up the ghost and was gathered to his people, as was Abraham.  I believe these have to be merely expressions that were used in the day and were not meant to have a significant meaning as to the kind of life each man lived.  I am picturing "giving up the ghost" as giving up the spirit of life or breath, breathing one's last breath.  As was discussed above, I believe that being gathered to one's people must just mean to go the way of death as his ancestors before him.  "They" in verse 18 would have to be the descendants of Ishmael and not his people before him.  The Ishmaelites lived in the country that extended from east to west from Havilah to Shur.  From what I have read and viewed on a map, this looks to be the northern region between Havilah arcing northward (as you go toward Assyria) to Shur next to Egypt.  I found an excellent map at http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-route-wilderness-of-shur-ishmaelites-midianites-amalekites.htm with references to other scriptures which shows where this region must have been:

Ishmael died in the presence of all his brethren.  This is a fulfillment of prophecy from Genesis 16:12 when the angel of the Lord told Hagar that Ishmael would "be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."  Among "all" his brethren probably means that he lived his wild and turbulent life and held his own in an area among Abraham's other children.  He died as he lived, in the presence of or amongst all his brethren.  Many of the old commentaries suggest that the pronoun "he" from verse 18 should have been read "it" and it meant that his lot fell among all his brethren.  They believe this because although verse 17 speaks of Ishmael, verse 18 speaks of the place where the Ishmaelites dwelt.  Additionally, the same word "naphal" that is translated as "died" here also means to divide by lot, and was used that way in another verse in the Bible; Joshua 23:4 states, "Behold, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the great sea westward."  So perhaps the true meaning of verse 18b is that his lot or inheritance was assigned him by God to be in the midst of all Abraham's other children.  It is true that even though Ishmael was not the promised seed, God blessed him and made of him a great nation that lives today.  Indeed Ishmael is the father of the Arab nation!

(19) And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac; (20) And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

We had a genealogy of Abraham's son Ishmael, and now begins one of Isaac.  We have a brief genealogical synopsis of what we have read of Isaac to this point.

(21) And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD was entreated for him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Now we pick up the story of Isaac's family after he and Rebekah were married.  Apparently they lived 20 years together as man and wife before having a child.  We were told that Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah, and later in scripture we are told that he was 60 when his sons were born (verse 26).  Isaac earnestly prayed to the Lord for Rebekah to have a child and the Lord granted his request and she conceived.

(22) And the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it be well, why am I this way?" And she went to inquire of the LORD. (23) And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from your body; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the older shall serve the younger." 

Apparently Rebekah felt a commotion inside her that did not feel normal, so she asked the Lord if everything was okay.  The Lord told her there were two babies in her womb, two different babies, not identical twins.  They would be different in appearance and in manner of life.  More than just twins, God was prophesying that from the babies would spring two different nations.  Two babies struggling in the womb would become two nations struggling with each other, one stronger than the other in physical strength, but the older would come to serve the younger.

24) And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. (25) And the first came out red, like a hairy garment all over; and they called his name Esau.

Sure enough, Rebekah delivered twins.  The first baby was red and hairy all over, and they called him "Esau", which literally means "rough" or "hairy".

(26) And after that his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel, and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

The second baby came out with his hand grabbing hold of the first baby's heel, the perfect picture of Jacob trying to pull back his older brother so that he might be the first, which was of course, a prophetic picture of what was to happen.  Even Jacob's name was prophetic; it literally means "supplanter".  To supplant is to overthrow by tripping up or to take the place of another by scheming or strategy.  His parents may have named him Jacob only because of the way he grabbed his brother's heel and it just looked like he was trying to pull his brother back to be first, sort of like parents today might say, "Oh, isn't that cute; he wants to supplant his brother".  However, God had told Rebekah that two nations struggled within her womb and that the older would serve the younger, so she may have seen the action of baby Jacob as prophecy fulfillment in the making and named him accordingly.

(27) And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

I was tempted to use "better" adjectives for my study, but since the original words can mean a variety of things, I decided to leave them as the KJV translators translated them and I would explore all the meanings of the original words.  Esau was a cunning hunter.  The original word for "cunning" is "yada", which has a huge variety of meanings, but they all stem from the root word "to know".  So he really knew about hunting; he was a skillful and experienced hunter.  He was a man of the field, an outdoorsman.  Jacob was a "plain" man.  It is very interesting that the KJV translators used the word "plain" to define the original "tam", as it doesn't seem to begin to define the word completely.  They were probably striving for the sense of  "gentle" or "mild", which would be considered in contrast to the skillful hunter and outdoorsman, but they are considered secondary meanings of the word.  "Tam" is most often used in other scriptures as "perfect and complete". 

(28) And Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

This scripture always bothered me.  How could a parent love one child over another?  But when you consider what we have already learned about the boys, it may make sense that each parent was more attached to one son more than the other.  Esau was Isaac's firstborn and he brought him good venison to eat.  Isaac evidently really enjoyed that and Esau probably sought to please his father in this way.  On the other hand, Jacob was probably more at home with his mother and of a milder and gentler disposition.  It may have been natural for the parents to be a little more attached to one child over the other, but there may have been more to this, and there are different ways to look at it.  Rebekah had received the prophetic word from God that the older son would eventually serve the younger son.  Perhaps she saw Jacob as blessed by God and she loved and sought to nurture the son chosen by God.  However, Adam Clarke wrote an interesting spin on this:  "This is an early proof of unwarrantable parental attachment to one child in preference to another. Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob; and in consequence of this the interests of the family were divided, and the house set in opposition to itself. The fruits of this unreasonable and foolish attachment were afterwards seen in a long catalogue of both natural and moral evils among the descendants of both families."  Perhaps the moral lesson in this is that the parents should not have loved one over the other, but as God gives prophecy as events will happen and not necessarily as they should happen, and also because He makes things work to the good for those who love and follow Him, the blessings will follow Jacob, but there will be much strife.

(29) And Jacob made a stew, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. (30) And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am faint." Therefore his name was called Edom.

Jacob, perhaps being the homebody that he was or maybe for some other reason, but certainly by Godly design, had made a stew.  Esau came in from the field, having toiled but obviously having nothing to eat, and he was faint, we can assume from hunger.  We are told that he was called "Edom" which literally means "red" because of this red stew.  We were previously told that he was born red and hairy.  Esau was the name for "hairy", and Edom was the name for "red".

(31) And Jacob said, "Sell me this day your birthright." (32) And Esau said, "Look, I am at the point of dying, so what profit will this birthright do to me?" (33) And Jacob said, "Swear to me this day." And he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. (34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils, and he ate and drank, and rose up, and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright.

Jacob obviously took advantage of the fact that Esau was starving to death, as he had put it, and it can be argued that he did not act righteously.  However, it must be noted that Esau had the choice to accept or decline Jacob's proposal.  Could he have not said, "Are you crazy, giving up my birthright for a meal?" and grabbed some bread or a fruit from the field to alleviate his hunger?  Jacob didn't force Esau to sell his birthright, but perhaps pressured him to decide just how important it really was.  Maybe as Isaac's favorite, Esau didn't consider the "birthright" as necessary, but it was very important to Jacob.  The birthright generally meant a double portion of inheritance, authority over the rest of the family, and his father's blessing.  If that was all there was to it, perhaps Esau was right from a worldly and temporal point of view.  What worldly things in this life really are that important, especially if Esau really thought he was starving to death?  But there were also spiritual blessings.  Exodus 13:2 and 22:29 show that the firstborn children were consecrated to God.  When you really think about how God determined where and when we would be born, and that He determined who would be the firstborn in each family, how could we just throw that away?  The parental blessing in this birthright was especially important with the promises of the Messiah and the inheritance of the land of Canaan.  Rebekah knew that these things were designed for Jacob; she knew that the older son would serve the younger, and she had probably told Jacob of it, as well.  Jacob seized this opportunity to get the birthright, and it was obviously not as important to Esau, who "despised" his birthright.  Furthermore, he is called a profane person in Hebrews 12:16 because he sold his birthright "for one morsel of meat".  Other meanings of the original word translated as "profane" here are "heathenish", "wicked", and "ungodly".  Esau totally dismissed the spiritual things of God, as would a heathen. 

Although God decides our birth order, it is obvious that He still gives us the choice to do with it what we will.  Esau saw no value in it, and Jacob sought it and fought for it all his life, as we will see in coming scriptures.  It must also be pointed out that God Himself may choose whomever He pleases to do His will as in the case of David, the youngest of several brothers.  As a matter of fact, God often uses the weakest things to confound the mighty (1 Corinthians 1:27).  So while we should never look upon the position God gave us in this world lightly, we must never consider it a hopeless lot in life.  Acts 17:26 states, "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation."  Therefore, as I always like to say, "You were born for such a time as this!"  That, of course, is from the story of Esther, but how true that is for each and every one of us.  God chose this time for us, so when you think of all that is going on in the world today, remember that God purposed that each one of us would be here now at this particular time in all of history, and in our particular place in the world.  How awesome is that to contemplate His purpose for us at this time?

The more I have studied and thought about this, the more instances I have found where the younger sibling seemed to rise above the firstborn.  You could go all the way back to Cain and Abel!  Then there's Ishmael and Isaac, and Esau and Jacob, and still to come in scripture, you might consider Leah and Rachel in this category.  It was interesting to read some of the different takes on this, especially from some sites that were more sympathetic toward Islam.  It was insinuated that the entire book of Genesis was about the reversal of the birth order law through some devious sort of predestination and that the poor firstborn were losers through no fault of their own.  I believe the lesson in all these cases is that while some are born with special blessings of God, as in being the firstborn, or being one of God's chosen people, it is still our choice whether we desire the things of God or worldly things.  Just because one might be firstborn and a blessed child of God's chosen people does not automatically guarantee him a place of honor with God.  In the New Testament the Pharisees argued that they were children of Abraham and they didn't see the need for Jesus to make them free.  Jesus in John 8:37 agreed that they were indeed the seed of Abraham, yet He told them their father was the devil!  When John the Baptist preached about the coming of Christ (Matthew 3 and Luke 3), he told them they could not rely on the fact that Abraham was their father, but that they must repent of their sins.  Additionally, even if one is born without certain apparent blessings of God, he may still come to God through salvation in Christ; that is the Good News that fills the New Testament!  It is always amazing to me to see God's love and His plan from the beginning, that is, Jesus and salvation in Christ, in the Old Testament!  Indeed God has never changed!