Day 9: Genesis 25-27

(The previous post focused on Abraham's son Isaac. We saw Abraham demonstrated his faith in God by being willing to slay Isaac. We also saw, in the longest chapter in the Book of Genesis, the process for obtaining a bride for Isaac. We have seen the Book of Genesis covered the first three dispensations in the first eleven chapters. The next thirteen chapters covered Abram/Abraham's portion of the 4th Dispensation. The following three chapters covered Isaac's portion of the 4th Dispensation.)

Genesis 25
¹ And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah.

(Abraham took another wife. I thought Genesis 24:1 stated he was running down?!?)

² And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

(It does not look like Abraham was running down any more.)

(In the Book of Job, there were three "comforters" who confronted Job. The second of the three was referred to as Bildad the Shuhite (Job 8:1), from Abraham's son: Shuah.)

³ And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

(Sheba would be the descendant of the Queen of Sheba. She was the queen who went to Solomon to prove him with hard questions after she heard of his wisdom (1 Kings 10).)

⁴ And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

(Some commentaries attempted to reconcile Abraham putting away Hagar by stating Keturah was really Hagar. We will see Abraham's age by this point would make Hagar near Sarah's age when she bore Isaac.)

⁵ And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
⁶ But unto the sons of the concubines, that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts. And he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
⁷ And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred threescore and fifteen years.

(Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines (plural). However, he gave everything of lasting value to Isaac and sent the others of his house away from Isaac. Remember, Ishmael was Abraham's first born and was the father of the Arabs. Muslims state they ought to be the chosen people of God because they are the descendants of Abraham's oldest son and the birthright always goes to the oldest son. However, we have seen in Genesis 17:21 that God said the birthright and blessing would be through the son born to Sarah, not Hagar.

Abraham was 175 years old when he died. About forty years have elapsed since Sarah died and Abraham began "running down.")

⁸ And 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.
⁹ And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre.

(Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave of Machpelah. This was the cave that Abraham bought for Sarah to be buried in (Genesis 23)...)

¹⁰ The field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth. There was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
¹¹ And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac dwelt by Beer-lahai-roi.

(God had a covenant with Abraham. Abraham died. God said the Covenant would continue with Isaac. What about Ishmael?)

¹² Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham.
¹³ And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
¹⁴ and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
¹⁵ Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments. Twelve princes according to their nations.

(Ishmael had twelve sons.)

¹⁷ And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years. And he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered unto his people.
¹⁸ And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria. He abode over against all his brethren.

(Ishmael died when he was 137 years old. Isaac would have been about 124 years old at that time. The narrative now went back to catch us up on Isaac.)

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, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife.
²¹ And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren. And Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

(Isaac had a similar issue as Abram. Perhaps Isaac learned from his own birth and went to God at a younger age than Abram did.)

²² And the children struggled together within her. And she said, If it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to inquire of Jehovah.
²³ And Jehovah said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. And the elder shall serve the younger.

(Rebekah was pregnant with twins. The twins had already "struggled together" from within Rebekah's womb. God told Rebekah, before the twins were born, that the older would serve the younger. This would have been significant since it would have been the opposite of the culture of that time. Paul referenced this verse in Romans 9:12.)

²⁴ And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
²⁵ And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esau.
²⁶ And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

(The significance of their names:
-The name Esau meant "hairy."
-The name Jacob meant "he grasps the heel," which was slang for "the supplanter."
-Supplanter meant "deceiver; someone who gets something at the expense of another."

Isaac was sixty years old when his sons were born.)

²⁷ And the boys grew. And Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

(Jacob was a "quiet man" or "plain man." This meant he was morally upright, a quiet man who was much milder than his older brother Esau.)

²⁸ Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison. And Rebekah loved Jacob.
²⁹ And Jacob boiled pottage. And Esau came in from the field, and he was faint.
³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage. For I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.

(Edom meant "red.")

³¹ And Jacob said, Sell me first thy birthright.
³² And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die. And what profit shall the birthright do to me?
³³ And Jacob said, Swear to me first. And he sware unto him. And he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

(Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. This was how Esau (the elder brother) ended up serving his younger brother. Was this God's plan for how this would happen? Notice, Jacob had "supplanted" Esau.)

³⁴ And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. And he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.




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 unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar.

(There was a famine in the land. Abram had dealt with the same situation. Abraham had also dealt with Abimelech in Genesis 20:1. Remember the context of this entire chapter: "there was a famine in the land.")

² And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.
³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.
⁴ And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
⁵ Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

(Since the situation was the same as what Isaac's father had faced, God had to tell Isaac not to go to Egypt like his father did. However, God approached Isaac the same way as He approached Abraham. In fact, God even referenced Abraham as the example to follow. Isaac chose to obey God.)

⁷ And the men of the place asked him of his wife. And he said, She is my sister. For he feared to say, My wife. Lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah. Because she was fair to look upon.

(Again, Isaac faced the same situation as what Abraham faced...with Abimelech. Isaac handled it the same way as his father. He referred to his wife as his sister. The difference was that Isaac lied. He intentionally stated a wrong what (fact). Rebekah was not his sister.)

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, of a surety she is thy wife. And how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die because of her.

(Abimelech was not interested in taking Rebekah. Perhaps she was not as beautiful as Sarah. Perhaps it was because of Abimelech's advanced age. It may even have been because Abimelech learned his lesson with Abraham and Sarah. Whatever the reason, Abimelech had asked Isaac about Rebekah and heard the same answer as what Isaac's father said.)

¹⁰ And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
¹¹ And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

(Notice, Abimelech was not concerned for himself (unlike Isaac). He was concerned with the males in his kingdom. The effect of this was Abimelech gave Isaac protection during a famine. What would Isaac do with this protection?)

¹² And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold. And Jehovah blessed him.
¹³ And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

(Isaac sowed (invested) during a famine. Isaac got rich while others were too afraid to sow because of the physical circumstances: famine. Throughout the Bible, individuals who sowed/planted during hard times would have much to reap/gain.)

¹⁴ And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household. And the Philistines envied him.
¹⁵ Now all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
¹⁶ And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us. For thou art much mightier than we.

(Again, Isaac followed in Abraham's footsteps. He had such great wealth he needed to separate himself from others. Remember, Lot received the well watered land. Abraham's land was not well watered because the wells were stopped.)

¹⁷ And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
¹⁸ And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. And he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
¹⁹ And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing 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 contended with him.

(There was conflict between herdsmen, similar to what happened between Abraham and Lot's herdsmen. The first well was named Esek which meant "contention.")

²¹ And they digged another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah.

(The second well was named Sitnah which meant "strife.")

²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well. And for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth. And he said, For now Jehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

(The third well was named Rehoboth which meant "wide places; roominess.")

(Isaac followed in his father's footsteps by re-establishing his father's wells. Each of the wells were named according to the circumstances that surrounded the well.)

²³ And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.
²⁴ And Jehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

(God appeared to Isaac the same way as He did to Abraham: fear not, protection, and blessing.)

²⁵ And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants digged a well.
²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.
²⁷ And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
²⁸ And they said, We saw plainly that Jehovah was with thee. And we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,
²⁹ that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace. Thou art now the blessed of Jehovah.

(In Genesis 21:22, Abimelech and Phicol formed a covenant with Abraham. Once again, Isaac followed in Abraham's footsteps.)

³⁰ And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
³¹ And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
³² And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
³³ And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

(Shibah meant "an oath." Beer-sheba meant "well of the sevenfold oath.")

³⁴ And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

(Esau, Isaac's oldest son, married two women.)

³⁵ And they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

(Esau's parents were in "grief of mind" over his Marriages.)




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 elder son, and said unto him, My son. And he said unto him, Here am I.
² And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
³ Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison.
⁴ And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat. That my soul may bless thee before I die.

(Isaac was near his death and wanted to pronounce a blessing on Esau. This was different from the birthright.)

⁵ And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
⁶ And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
⁷ Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.
⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
⁹ Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats. And I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth.
¹⁰ And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.

(Rebekah initiated a plan for Jacob to "supplant" Esau's blessing.)

¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
¹² My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver. And I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
¹³ And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son. Only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

(Jacob was concerned Rebekah's plan would not work. Rebekah was willing to bear the pain of the plan, just like Sarai did in Egypt with Pharaoh.)

¹⁴ And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother. And his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
¹⁵ And Rebekah took the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.
¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.
¹⁷ And she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

(Rebekah also took care of changing Jacob's appearance.)

¹⁸ And he came unto his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I. Who art thou, my son?
¹⁹ And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

(Jacob lied.)

²⁰ And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.

(Jacob lied, this time about God!)

²¹ And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
²² And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father. And he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
²³ And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.
²⁴ And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

(Another lie. Remember, when Isaac was stressed in Abimelech's land, he lied. Now, Isaac's son was stressed three times and Jacob acted like his father.)

²⁵ And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat. And he brought him wine, and he drank.

(Jacob brought Isaac wine.)

²⁶ And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
²⁷ And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.

(Isaac still had his sense of smell. The following story was referenced in Hebrews 11:20 as proof that Isaac was an example of faith to us.)

²⁸ And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine.
²⁹ Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee.

(Jacob and others were blessed and cursed. This blessing was spiritually focused.)

³⁰ And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
³¹ And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father. And he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
³² And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau.
³³ And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.

(Isaac was so upset he trembled.)

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
³⁵ And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing.
³⁶ And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. And, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

(The birthright and blessing were two different things and Jacob "supplanted" Esau for both.)

³⁷ And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants. And with grain and new wine have I sustained him. And what then shall I do for thee, my son?
³⁸ And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
³⁹ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And of the dew of heaven from above.
⁴⁰ And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck.

(Esau was given the earth and would live by the sword. This blessing was physically focused.)

⁴¹ And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then will I slay my brother Jacob.

(Esau was so upset that he planned to kill Jacob.)

⁴² And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. And arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran.
⁴⁴ And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away.
⁴⁵ Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him. Then I will send, and fetch thee from thence. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?

(Rebekah became aware of Esau's plan to kill Jacob so she again guided Jacob. He was sent away from Esau because of a conflict over wealth, just like Isaac was and just like Abraham was.)

⁴⁶ And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

(Rebekah convinced Isaac by using Esau's wives as an example, something she knew caused Isaac "grief of mind" (Genesis 26:35).)

(This post covered the three chapters that focused on Isaac's portion of the 4th Dispensation: Isaac became rich by sowing during a famine after receiving protection from Abimelech. Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Jacob, the younger, supplanted Esau by getting both the birthright and the blessing, meaning the presentation of the 4th Dispensation continued through Jacob's perspective.)

Day 10