ISSAC
Genesis 23-28
Key Verses
23:1-24:7 Sarah passed away in her adopted homeland of Canaan at one hundred and twenty-seven years of age. Abraham, by then an old man himself, wept and grieved for his wife. ...Realizing his advanced age, Abraham considered the many blessings God had bestowed upon him. …Yet the picture was not complete. He took aside his head servant and made him swear a solemn oath, saying, “Whatever happens, do not arrange for my son Isaac to take a wife from among the Canaanites. Instead, I am sending you back to the land of my ancestors to find a suitable wife for him. …If she will not come back here, you are absolved of this oath. But you must never let him go to live in that distant land, for the Lord has promised this place to me and my children. I know he will send an angel ahead of you to make sure everything works out right.”
24:10-14 With those words the servant packed up his camels with supplies and gifts from Abraham... to travel all the way back to the land of Mesopotamia between the two rivers. …Upon arriving with his tired and thirsty camels, the servant prayed, “Dear Lord, sovereign God of my master Abraham, please make all go well for me here today and may the outcome reveal your kindness toward my master Abraham. I pray that one of the young women drawing water at the town well will respond positively when I say, ‘Put down your water jug so I can quench my thirst.’ If she is the woman you have chosen for Isaac, let her reply, ‘Please drink up, and I will water your camels also’. If that happens, then I will have no doubt that you have arranged everything out of kindness for my master.”
24:15-27 Even before the servant had finished his prayer, along came Rebekah shouldering her water jug. Now Rebekah was Abraham’s grandniece, granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. Moreover, Rebekah was both beautiful and chase. …When the servant asked her, “Will you put down your water jug so I can quench my thirst?” Rebekah replied, “Of course, sir.” And once he had finished drinking, she added, “I will be happy to fetch water for your camels as well,” …and then proceeded to water each and every one of them. …When he saw all this, the servant bowed down worshipfully to God and prayed out loud, “All praise be unto you, O Lord, God of my master Abraham. You have not withheld your kindness and generosity from my master and you have guided me directly to the home of my master’s brother.”
24:29-61 Now Rebekah’s brother was named Laban. After hearing Rebekah’s report, Laban ran straightaway to meet the man at the well. …He gave the man a big welcome, saying “Come into our home, for we know God is blessing you in your endeavor. …All is ready for you to stay with us as a special guest. …So the servant entered the house and Laban’s family made sure his traveling companions and their camels were cared for. …Once inside, the servant was offered food to eat but he refused, saying, “Until I can recount to you my whole story, I will not eat a bite” [and he told them every detail from beginning to end. Then the servant said to Laban and Rebekah’s father Bethuel], “I must know what you think about all this. What do you plan to do now?” ...They looked at one another and replied, “We definitely see God’s hand in all this. So how can we resist his will? It is only right that you take Rebekah and return to Canaan where she will become Isaac’s wife, just as God has ordained.” …Then the men called in Rebekah and asked her, “Are you willing to leave with this man to go marry your cousin in Canaan?” And Rebekah said, “Yes, I will go with him.” Upon hearing Rebekah’s reply, the servant proceeded to give Bethuel and Milcah the brideprice gifts from Abraham. After they had all rested the night, the entourage departed—the servant and his men along with Rebekah and her handmaidens. …And Rebekah’s family sent her off with a special prayer of blessing.
24:62-67 At that time Isaac was living in the region of the Negev. …One evening he was prayerfully meditating in the fields when his gaze fell upon an approaching train of camels. Isaac went to meet them while Rebekah, seeing Isaac coming, veiled herself. After greeting one another, the servant recounted to Isaac everything that had happened on the journey. Isaac then led Rebekah into his mother’s tent and made a commitment to marry her. He soon came to love Rebekah as his wife and found great comfort in her presence now that his mother was dead.
25:5-10 After presenting gifts to his concubines’ sons, Abraham arranged for everything else he owned to go to Isaac. Abraham then sent the concubines’ sons to live in the region east of Canaan so they would be well separated from Isaac and his inheritance. After this final act, Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five, a man full of contentment. …He was buried in a cave alongside his beloved wife Sarah. It was then that Isaac became the special object of God’s blessing.
25:21-28 In time Rebekah became pregnant with twin boys, but they constantly jostled around inside her. Out of concern, she prayed to the Lord. God’s answer to her was this: “In your womb are two nations, and two distinct groups of people will come from them. Over time, the firstborn will come to serve the one born second.” …When finally the first child was born he was given the name Esau (“hairy one”), for his little body was covered with fine hair. Meanwhile, the second son came from the womb holding fast to the heel of his brother. They gave him the name Jacob, meaning “the one who snatches away.” …The boys flourished and grew strong. Esau became skilled at hunting wild game. But Jacob preferred the domestic life and rarely ventured away from the family tents. Because Isaac loved to eat wild game, he loved Esau as his favorite. But Jacob was his mother’s delight and she loved him more.
26:1-24 A serious famine soon struck Canaan and Isaac moved to the land of the Philistines in Gerar searching for relief. …There God appeared to Isaac, saying, “Do not leave this area for Egypt (to escape the famine). You are to remain here for now, for I will be with you in this place and here you will know my blessing. …I will do so because your father Abraham obeyed my every word and command.” …So Isaac stayed there and planted crops, reaping a huge and bountiful harvest. The Lord blessed Isaac so much that he became extremely wealthy. But his wealth and success created jealousy among the Philistines among whom he lived. ...Their initial response was to try to ruin him by filling in his water wells. But in frustration they gave up their plot and finally simply demanded that he leave, saying, “You must go somewhere else. With all your crops, herds, and servants you are overwhelming the resources of our homeland.” So of his own free will Isaac departed the area…for Beersheba, where God appeared to him the very night of his arrival. There the Lord spoke to Isaac, saying, “I am the God of your father Abraham. And because I am here with you, there is not a thing in the world you need to fear. For the sake of Abraham, who served me so faithfully, I will shower my blessings on you and give you a multitude of descendants.” There in Beersheba Isaac built an altar to worship God, and he stayed on to establish his residence.
27:1-29 After Isaac became old and all but blind, he summoned Esau as the eldest son. Isaac told him, “My days are numbered…So venture out into the open countryside and kill some wild game to bring back to make me a tasty stew. Afterward I will confer upon you my final blessing—the one I’ve reserved for you as the eldest son. [But goaded by his mother Rebekah, Jacob devised a scheme to trick Isaac by preparing goat stew in Esau’s absence. Once told that the stew was ready] Isaac said to Jacob, “Bring the stew here for me to eat and afterward the blessing shall be yours.” …So Jacob brought the stew and Isaac ate it accompanied by glasses of wine. Satisfied, Isaac then offered Jacob his final paternal blessing, …“May God provide you with heaven’s plentiful rains and the goodness of the green earth—vineyards abounding with grapes and bountiful harvests of grain. May all the nations serve you and every tribe of people show you honor and respect. …Anyone who dares to curse you will find himself cursed, while all who bless you will themselves be blessed.”
27:30-28:5 No sooner had Jacob departed with the blessing than Esau returned. Expectantly, Esau prepared a tasty stew and came into this father’s presence to give him the meal. …But Isaac was confused and asked, “Who in the world are you?” Puzzled himself, Esau replied, “You know this is Esau your firstborn son.” …At that Isaac began to shake all over and said, “But I only now just finished eating a stew and I gave someone my blessing, a blessing that cannot be taken back.” Hearing what had happened and realizing what Jacob had done, Esau cried out bitterly, “My father, bless me also.” But Isaac replied, “My son, your brother has stolen away your blessing, just as his name predicted he would.” …Upset at his fate, Esau determined that after his father had died and the days of mourning him came to a close, he would get back at Jacob. “I will pay him back with death,” Esau thought to himself. But Rebekah caught wind of his plot…and she pointedly said to Jacob, “You must flee to my brother’s home in Haran because your brother is planning to kill you for what you have done. …Then, to make the plan work, Rebekah convinced Isaac that Jacob must go to find a wife among her distant kin. So Isaac gave Jacob his blessing to depart, but with a stern warning that he not marry a Canaanite woman in his absence. Rather, according to Isaac’s strict instructions, Jacob was to “Leave immediately for Paddan Aram and go to Bethuel’s house, for he is your mother’s father. He will see to it that you find a proper wife from among your uncle Laban’s daughters, who are our kith and kin.” …Then Isaac saw Jacob off on his long journey eastward.
Basic Message
After Abraham became an old man, he ordered his servant to go back to Abraham’s country of origin to find a wife for his beloved son Isaac. Abraham promised that God would send an angel ahead to make arrangements. The servant did so and, upon arriving, prayed a very specific prayer for God’s guidance in choosing a wife for Isaac—a prayer which God honored through Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother.
Rebekah and her family agreed that God was directing the marriage arrangement and so she and the servant left together for Canaan. Upon arriving, they met Isaac who, once informed of the divinely directed events, took Rebekah for his wife and began to develop a deep love for her. They settled in the area and started a family.
Before his death, Abraham gave most of his wealth to Isaac and separated him geographically from his half-brothers and their descendants. God’s blessing then rested upon Isaac, whose wife Rebekah gave birth to twins—Esau and Jacob. Isaac favored the eldest, Esau, while Rebekah favored Jacob. After they had grown, Jacob deceitfully stole away Esau’s rightful birthright blessing from a dying Isaac—a blessing that, once conferred, Isaac would not take back. Esau hated Jacob for usurping the blessing and planned to kill him. But Rebekah heard of his plan and arranged for Isaac to send the young man safely away to the land of their origin, there to find a wife for him among Rebekah’s relatives.
Comments
* The blessing of Abraham was passed down to Isaac, the channel through whom it would eventually reach the whole world. By willfully participating in God’s plan, Abraham’s servant experienced the answer to his own personal prayers. Things went exactly as he prayed and God directed his every effort, making them successful. Everyone involved recognized God’s hand in things and, by faith, cooperated fully with what they saw God doing in their lives. That included Rebekah, her family, and Isaac, who married her and began to love her dearly. God’s word to Isaac, “Because I am here with you, there is not a thing in the world you need to fear,” applies to all who still seek to follow his divine leading. For in God’s will and presence is perfect security.
* The deception and conniving of Jacob and Rebekah to steal Esau’s birthright blessing was evidence that God works out his own plans irrespective of human failings. Whether through faithfulness and righteousness or the plans and schemes of flawed and fearful human beings, God sees to it that his purposes always prevail. Though Esau’s anger was justified, acting on that anger did not serve the purposes of God, who had determined to work through Jacob to bless the world. Thus, God protected Jacob from Esau. There is an important lesson here that all who seek to follow God must at some point learn, and learn well: our own intentions and devices must be relinquished and transformed whenever they contradict God’s omnipotent designs. Otherwise, our best laid plans and the efforts we put into them will end in utter futility.
Biblical Themes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13
