Genesis 27:30-40
Esau’s Lost Hope (Hebrews 12:17)
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.”
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.”
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.”
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!” 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?”
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.
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.”
Esau had lasting regrets of the consequences of not valuing God’s blessing, having allowed his hunger to matter so much more that he sold the right of the firstborn’s blessing for such a meagerly sum. Isaac had just finished giving the blessing of the firstborn to the supplanter Jacob when Esau entered the tent and tried to get the blessing which he had so despised and sold for a passing pleasure of physical gratification. It was too late, as the blessing could only be given once and no law or custom could undo the deceit of Jacob nor increase the value of Esau’s estimation and choice to despise what he could have had; there was no undoing his choice as Hebrews 12:17 explains to us. Esau had been rejected because he rejected what mattered to the LORD, and no amount of real or perceived regretful repentance could change that willing choice. He made a profane choice, unholy and ungodly, in treating such a promise of lasting blessing of the faith of Abraham as nothing. His tears and pleading with his father could not undo the blessing and place of submission and subservience to Jacob as master to his younger brother. The cry, “bless me also, oh my father” was repeated and Isaac was only able to pronounce the bountiful material provision to Esau but also the curse of living by the sword as he served his brother. When he had enough, he would break free from Jacob’s yoke of control and go off on his own, but he would not be the instrument of God’s inheritance through the lineage of faith in the coming Messiah. That was given to Jacob who would be renamed Israel as the channel of God’s salvation to all nations to come. We should take heed to this sad ex and not act rashly concerning the gifts and grace of God that we do not experience similar lasting regrets of the consequences.
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