So God is gracious to Isaac, even though he lives on the edge of where he’s not supposed to go and then he lies. We see in verse 12, God blessed him. " Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him." Now, in spite of the language used, even in the original text, it doesn’t mean that Isaac planted a crop that returned a hundredfold. It says "Isaac sowed in that land." It's a metaphoric statement.
In verse 13, "and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him." In the original Hebrew, it's a great play on words, it says "The man became great, continued to become greater until he became the greatest." God pours out blessing. And Isaac is comfortable there. And in verses 16-17, Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us." And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there." But Isaac went only a few miles away and settled there. And he wouldn’t leave.
And so we read in verse 18, "Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them." Abraham, by the way, was in the same area.
Then, in verses 19-23, "But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, "At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land. Then he went up from there to Beersheba."
Then in verse 24, God repeats the Abrahamic covenant to him. And this is where, for the first time, we really see the demonstration that this is a man of faith. " The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham." Verse 25, "So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well."
He took up his place in the very location where the Lord had come to him and given him the promise and the covenant.
Now, if you will remember, back in chapter 25, " Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the Lord." Notice that it says, "So she went to inquire of the Lord," this is a clear indication that they worshiped the true and living God. "So she went to inquire of the Lord." Because you don't inquire of someone whom you don't believe in, right? I imagine that she was saying to the Lord, why is this so hard, because it says "the children struggled together."
Then, verse 23, "The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger." In other words, through Jacob would come the Jewish people; through Esau would come the Edomites, the Arabic peoples. The older was Esau, the younger was Jacob, but they were reversed when it came to the birthright. They followed the Lord because they prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard their prayer.
Now, in Romans chapter 9 verse 13, the Apostle Paul makes a really big point, "Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Before they were ever born, the Lord chose Jacob, there was bound up in this promise a sovereign act, two nations, one stronger than the other, one serving the other. The purpose of God, to give grace to one line and withhold it from the other. We are not to question God's purposes, for God has a right to dispense His blessings according to His own sovereign will. Since God is creator of all things, He has, therefore, an unlimited right over all His creation. It was and is His own good pleasure that He created the world at all. Nothing God created had any claim on its maker. If man had no claim on God when he is innocent, has he somehow acquired the right by the fall? I believe that the answer is clearly a resounding, "NO!" God’s sovereign purpose, He chose Abraham, He chose Isaac, He chose Jacob and through them would come the Messianic line.
So Isaac receives God’s promises and builds an altar; like Abraham, Isaac makes a treaty with Abimelech. But there’s a reason Isaac’s story is told this way: We see very clearly that God’s plan hasn’t changed; he’s leading Isaac down the same covenant path which He had previously led Abraham.
Verse 34, "When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite." First, bad choice, because one is enough. Second, these are pagans. Verse 35 says "And they brought grief to Isaac and to Rebecca."
And there we have the character of Esau. That’s why Hebrews 12:16, calls him a profane man. The Greek word "profane" means outside the threshold. It means outside the house. Outside the walkway, the common walk. He was a very common, earthy man. And so in the case of Esau, things went bad at birth, they went bad through the whole story of Jacob and Esau, and we will take a look at that.
Chapter 27, "Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son.” And he said to him, "Here I am." Isaac said, "Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die."
So, it says Isaac was old, he was 137 if you do the mathematical calculation. Now, "his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son.” And he said to him, "Here I am." Isaac said, "Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death." Interestingly enough, he went on to live 43 more years. This is an indication of how he felt about Esau. God said, "The older will serve the younger," and the older was Esau, that was the prophecy. God said, "That’s how it’s going to be."
Now, if you will remember, back in chapter 25, verse 24, it says "When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
So, "the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment." Well, that would have been a huge disappointment, he was like wolfman or something, "and they named him Esau." then, "Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob." And, "Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents." Here, we see a great distinction between the two. And "Isaac loved Esau," in other words, he liked that ruddy man, perhaps because he could deliver a good steak. "because he had a taste for game." Then it says, " but Rebekah loved Jacob."
Verses 29-31, "When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom." But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright." How hungry must you have to be to do that? So, in verses 32-34, "Esau said", "Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?" And Jacob said, "First swear to me; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." What a man of this world, to treat your birthright with disdain. Here is a man who has no view of the future ., that is why he is called a profane man.
However, is is also true, that Jacob did not need to do that, because God had promised in the prophecy that he would be heir, that though him would come the reiteration of the Abrahamic covenant. He would be the chosen son. And, because of this act, it caused all kinds of problems in the family, all kinds of deception, all kinds of lies, all kinds of animosity and hatred that was absolutely unnecessary. It is true Esau had no thought for God, he was passionate about earthly things, impulsive, incapable of estimating the true worth of anything that didn’t immediately appeal to his fleshly senses. He preferred the animal to the spiritual and therefore, is profane. God would have made it happen. Jacob didn’t need to accomplish it in this way. Because God's prophecy that Jacob would receive the birthright was true, it wasn't necessary to do that.
Now, in chapter 27, old Isaac knows about this sale of the birthright but he still favors Esau. So, in verses 3-4 he says, "Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die."
Hearing this, Rebekah, hatches her plan. "Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, ‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death."
Isaac has ignored the fact that the birthright has been exchanged. Isaac has ignored the profane character of Esau. He has ignored his marriages to pagan idolatress women. Isaac ignores God's prophecy. Isaac ignores all that just because he likes him, because he provides what satisfies his appetite. So, Rebecca is not going to let this happen and it’s an amazing story.
Rebekah says, "Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death."
Then, "Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing." What is interesting, is that he doesn’t mind being a liar, he doesn't mind cheating, he just doesn’t want to expose himself to a curse.
"But his mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob." Now, that really tells you just how hairy Esau was! Keep in mind, Isaac can barely see.
"Then he came to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me." Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. And he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" And he said, "I am." So he said, "Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you." And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son."
This was a domesticated goat by the way, with all the right spices, his mother really knew how to do it. One lie after another lie, after another lie!
Verse 27, "So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed; Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you."
In effect, he is investing the promise of the Abrahamic covenant in this man Jacob, believing that he is Esau. Then, in verse 30-32, "Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me. Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."
Look at verse 33, "Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed." "Isaac trembled violently," that's conviction right there! Isaac realized what he had done. "When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" And he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing."
Then he said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" But Isaac replied to Esau, "Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?" Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept."
Verse 39-40, " Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, and away from the dew of heaven from above. "By your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck." Then, in verse 41, we see the fallout of this, its obvious, "So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
So, here's Isaac, who is in the list of heroes of faith, and we are probably wondering how he got there with all of this stuff going on in his life. Let's look at chapter 26 in verses 24-25, "The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham." So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well." That is really a statement of faith, to the point of true conversion. In spite of the kind of life, these people lived, in spite of all the lies and the deception that is going on, and it continued by the way.
Jacob never saw his mother again, he was alienated from his brother and lived in fear that his brother was going to kill him. He met up with his brother and his life was spared. The writer of Hebrews says he demonstrated his faith concerning things to come. All that can be said about this man in the listing that occurs in Hebrews chapter 11 and defines him as a man of faith, is that he believed God for what he did not receive. He blessed Jacob with the true blessing, gave a secondary blessing to even to Esau, even regarding things to come. That is the essence of faith.
Isaac tried to do things his way, but as soon as he perceived the providential hand of God crossing his natural will and his natural affection, rather than to rebel, he submitted to the Lord.
In chapter 28, "So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham."
Now let's go back to Hebrews chapter 11 to wrap this up, verse 21, "By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff." The life of faith, for Jacob was like his father Isaac. He walked by faith, like Isaac. Though he encountered many struggles, many challenges, victories came very hard for him. Sin was heavy, however, his faith never waned.
In Closing..
While they were often weak, vacillating, sometimes immoral, they were living in a time without the full revelation of the Spirit that we know today. They struggled perhaps in ways that we don’t and maybe that’s why there was a little more tolerance of those things as Scripture indicates in the past. But what may be true about that part of their lives doesn’t cancel out what’s true about the commitment they made to trust God. They could not be deterred from giving the blessing to whom the blessing belonged.
They all died never having seen God's promise fulfilled, they died as strangers, wanderers, nomads, a couple of them in foreign lands. That was the evidence of their faith. They believed God for what they couldn’t see, all the way to death.
And, it is my prayer that’s how you believe, too.
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen