Genesis 27
Isaac is on his death bed and asks to see his elder son Esau. Esau and his younger brother Jacob have had a turbulent relationship since before birth (25 v 22). Whilst Isaac favours Esau, his wife Rebekah favours Jacob.
The Lord predicts to Rebekah that Jacob will serve Esau (25 v23) the reverse of the usual family order in OT times. This prophecy is partly fulfilled when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.(25 v33) As Rebekah favours Jacob, she takes advantage of Isaac’s diminished sight, disguising Jacob as Esau. Isaac blesses Jacob before Esau (27v 29) - a blessing that takes full legal weight.
Although this situation may seem unfair to us, as Jacob tricked Esau out of his inheritance, it happened to fulfil the Lord’s prophesy. God had chosen Jacob over Esau to continue the line of inheritance and he used Rebekah’s favouritism to enable this.
Response
Are there any situations in your life at the moment where you are struggling to understand God’s purpose? Pray God will reveal his will in these situations. Alternatively, do you believe that God has a particular mission for you but you are finding it hard to work out how it will be fulfilled? Pray that God will guide you there.
(Member of a homegroup)