A Bible story I have read and heard over and over again has struck me in a different way than ever before. It is funny how we look at something a certain way and then all the sudden we see it in a different light. In Genesis 27 and 28 Moses, the writer, the story teller and the author of the Pentateuch describes Isaac. My attention turns to Isaac this time which is a different approach for me. I always looked at this particular story as being mainly about Jacob receiving his blessing as designed by God.
We get the scene laid out for us with narrative that Isaac is ill, old and blind. We have a story line that describes him as not thinking he will live long. In the end, however, we see him living for many years after this story. Is it possible Isaac was using this situation timing to do his will against the Lords? We can unfortunately relate to what he was doing.
Let’s look at the big picture. As we look at the background on Isaac we find he lived a long life. (Gen. 35:28) Therefore he lived a few decades longer. He also didn’t travel much and never moved away from the same area. (Gen 35:27) When we take the larger part of the Old Testament into consideration we get to fill in the blanks. We know that Isaac was considered one of the irreplaceable (trio) of founding fathers of God’s people just as Abraham and Jacob.
We can deduct that Isaac was always content with the simple pleasures of life. He didn’t seem to travel and do some of the other things the great men of the Bible have done. Isaac obviously knew God and feared God. Evidence is present that the Lord spoke to Jacob twice about being what He called, the God of your father Isaac. (Gen. 28:13; 46:1-3) We also can find that two times Jacob spoke of, ‘the fear of his father Isaac’. So we see the respect. (Gen. 31:42; 53) It is clear to me that Jacob saw through Isaac that God is the one that comforts and He is also the one worthy of reverence or ‘fear’. This is the ‘The fear of God’ we so miss in our land today.
As we look at the narrative of the current passage in Gen 27 we need to remember that Isaac is the only man in the entire Bible that was tied upon an altar, saw a knife coming at his heart and then heard the voice of an Angel stop his impending death as his father’s sacrifice. He knew intimately that God had spared him and was worthy of fear and worship. That is what makes this situation so troubling. This great man is going through the same things we experience!
Isaac married his cousin Rebekah and they shared a spirituality and love for God. They made some big mistakes as parents in their child rearing. They were divided on their affections between their twin children. (Gen. 25:28) We can’t tell if they didn’t bring the two children up with the word of God or if it is possible they went astray as some do with backsliding or being a prodigal. It is hard to pin this down because the two children are grown at this point. It does look like the word of God ended up being neglected and because of that issue alone the family suffered. (Gen.27:41) It was because they strayed from the word of God that when the time came for Isaac to pass on the treasured blessing He followed his logic and not the spirit to want to give it to Esau. It was evident to all that God had chosen Jacob.
Rebekah thought she could help the Lord out by scheming to get the blessing over to Jacob. Isn’t that like what happens sometimes in our lives? We think we need to help God get things done when in reality he doesn’t need us for anything.
The key descriptive is that Isaac has forgotten about God in his daily life which is similar to how we forget about the Lord. Because he forgot about God he wasn’t following the will of God. He was operating out of pride and selfishness or in the flesh rather than following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Isaac was all about enjoying Esau’s hunting skills and manliness. Rebekah also acted in the flesh by trying to do what was right through her own actions. Isaac knew that God wanted the blessing to go to Jacob so he was trying to pass the blessing on to Esau against the Lords desire. Jacob, the scoundrel, goes along and works with the deception. It looks like dysfunction junction and a lack of trust all about the family. It strikes me this time as a sort of soap opera.
Our author, Moses, guides us to make certain conclusions about Isaac’s spiritual condition. We have the characters, the plot and the plot resolution. We have the conflict and the tension to make it all exciting.
To be continued…
Follow the rest of the story in Part 2 by clicking here.
Please have a Godly day,
“The Tubthumper”
