The Story of Esau and Jacob

WELCOME PRAYER SONG SILENCE

Genesis 27.41 – 28. 1-end March 19th, 2023. So we left off at verse 40 where the blessing from Isaac was bestowed upon his disappointed son Esau.

Let's continue reading at verse 41

The Seed of Revenge

Genesis 27:41 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. 42 And these 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 deprived also of you both in one day? 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 which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Alright back to verse 41

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.

The Futility of Revenge

It's sort of ironic that in the face of Esau’s hateful plan to murder his brother at the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of his father wouldn’t be possible for another forty years. That’s a heck of a long time to carry a plan of revenge right? What’s the old saying, “Revenge changes nothing except the heart of the revenger.” Or “Getting revenge is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.”

Revenge. Bitterness. Abiding anger, resentment, unforgiveness, all of it, in the end, only harms the beholder and not the wrongdoer. Which, of course, is why God wants His children to surrender it all – to Him – plain and simple. It seems that God does not want His children taking revenge or getting it for a couple of general reasons.

First, we are not the judge nor jury. We do not have access to all of the facts about a matter – and even when we think we do, we really don’t. Ever. So taking revenge is to usurp the place of God as judge and that is not something we want upon our backs. Taking the revenge that is reserved for God is also an act of faithlessness – and since we can only please God by faith, it seems that revenge is something that does not please Him.

Additionally, I tend to see the desire for revenge, which is a by-product of refusing to forgive, is antithetical to the Liberty God wants us to have in and through Him. The elements of revenge rage when we entertain the act, reflect on the wrongdoing and revisit the wrongs made against us. They effectively take our minds, hearts and sometimes even our health captive, forcing us into a cell of dark anger. Finally, forgiving and leaving vengeance to God keeps us from a quagmire of trouble that comes with such.

A saying I share with my kids and grandkids (especially with a grandson who likes to use his fists) is “the Greatest revenge a person can ever have is success.” Taking this out to the extreme and eternal, the greatest ultimate revenge anyone can have is to be a son or daughter of God, loving those who despitefully use us, forgiving all souls, and faith letting God do His work. It is an act of faith. It will keep us from trouble. And it will liberate us from the traps it brings.

The Cultural Tradition

It seems that culturally the time guaranteed where Esau and Jacob would be in the same place at the same time would be when Isaac died because it was customary then, as it is now, for family to respect their parents by attending their funeral. Ishmael came from his own country to assist Isaac in burying Abraham and this will be the same for Esau and Jacob. So, Esau, at least at this point, was being driven by the anger, hate, and resentment. (verse 42)

And we see Jacob is beginning to pay for his deceptive ways with a very capable hunter-brother on his

Rebekah and Jacob's Journey

42 And these 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.

In other words, Jacob, honey, “Esau is looking to kill you.” The way Moses describes it, Esau was finding great pleasure in, he was comforting himself with, the fantasies on how he was going to go about doing it. Isn’t that on the nose true?

We literally RELISH in our thoughts of revenge, don’t we? It has been a great obstacle in my own life as I always got revenge when I was younger and as I have gotten older the Spirit pushes me constantly to completely resign my will over to His. And God seems to want me to face this inclination in my life because He seems to allow a constant flow of circumstances for me to do it. I am learning not to retaliate with a face or a look. No words. No actions.

Rebekah's Guidance to Jacob

(beat) verse 43, as Rebekah continues and says to Jacob,

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 deprived also of you both in one day?

Interestingly, scholars seem to think that Rebekah never saw Jacob again after he took her advice to run to her brother, Laban, and this in and of itself had to represent a great and painful result of her actions that we are sure she felt. And even though Esau swore to kill him she seems to ignore the fact that he said it would happen once his father was dead.

This could be a reference to the law instilled at the time of Noah where we read about in Genesis 9:6 where the nearest of kin was allowed “to kill in revenge in that day” which would explain her fear that she could lose both sons in the same day as Esau would have killed Jacob and the next of kin would or could have rightfully killed Esau. This appears to be the meaning of Rebekah’s words. After this event (actually this last verse) we hear no more of Rebekah except (and I stand corrected here) because Genesis 49:31 does mention that she was buried with Isaac.

Isaac's Blessing to Jacob

So, we end chapter 27 with the next verse which too appears to be a deception of Rebekah as she now goes to Isaac and we read

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 which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

While these sentiments might be true, the real reason behind his quick departure was because of Esau’s anger which she doesn’t mention to Isaac. In order to explain his departure to Laban her brother, who lived in Haran which was in proximity to this place called Padan-aram, she appears to present this reason for his departure. Just as Rebekah was found in this land as a wife for Isaac, it seems she wants the same for Jacob as Esau had already taken wives from the Hittites.

Isaac, not knowing the true cause of sending him away, readily falls in with Rebekah's proposal, and immediately calls Jacob, gives him suitable directions and his blessing, and sends him away. The first four verses of chapter 28 should probably be attached to the end of twenty seven – so let’s venture forward into them before moving on.

Chapter 28:1-4

1And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God

Blessing and Lineage of Jacob

1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Where it says that Isaac blessed him it is thought that this was the same blessing but now being confirmed rightly and with all transparency on Isaac's part. In other words, it was sort of a confirmation for Jacob before he departs so he is sure that all the rights of primogeniture are in place and there remains no doubt. I could just be another blessing that a father might give to a departing child. Some wonder if at this place Jacob was able to come clean with Isaac and confess to the trickery – but more conjecture.

The Lord doesn’t seem to deal in vagueries, ironic as this sounds. It's one thing I resent about modern day faith healers – the vagueness of their healings and claims which, in my experience, fail when challenged. When Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood, He mercifully did not allow her to experience and walk away only to later wonder if anything happened at all. He called her out and had her take ownership of reaching out to him in faith and gave her a concrete reassurance that she was healed by Him. Perhaps this is what Isaac is doing now with Jacob. Isaac does say (verse 2)

Instructions and Blessing for Jacob

2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

The Line of Faith Through Abraham

Abraham excluded Ishmael from this blessing and Isaac now excludes Esau from the same. So, the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is drawn in permanent ink in the history of the Nation of Israel, Islam, and Christianity. Again, and according to Paul in Galatians 3, this line is much more than a line of blood but speaks more to being a line of people of faith, which is to come upon the Gentiles in the future in and through Christ, the object of our faith. There, Paul says, beginning at verse 6

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

So, let’s read on now beginning at verse 5 all the way to the end of this chapter.

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. 6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; 8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth.

Jacob's Journey and Divine Vision

10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

The Blessing of Jacob

Alright back to verse 5

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Now, this name Padanaram refers to an area around Haran and is not related to the race of a people from Aram the son of Shem but refers to the land that was formerly possessed by his descendants (for whatever that is worth) 6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; 8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Esau's Attempt to Please

As a human being I feel badly for Esau – the things of God can be hard on someone outside His ways. It appears that as a means to try and please his parents that Esau now went and took a wife from the family instead of the Canaanites. Just as a bit of information, Esau married his father's niece and Jacob will marry his mother's niece. There is no difference in the line from which Esau took this third wife from whom Jacob will take his first. And for this reason it seems Esau was trying to make Mom and Dad happy.

So now we turn to Jacob. Verse 10

10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. Verse 19 informs us that this place was called Luz or was some part of its vicinity and was about 48 miles from his home located in Beersheba. Jacob had probably intended to reach Luz but the reason given he didn’t was because the sun was setting. So, he made himself as comfortable as possible and we read that “he took of the stones” even though we will learn in a minute it was only one stone which he had for his pillow.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Big verse for people with imagination, right? A lot has been said about this vision of the ladder and its meaning. Let’s cover the essentials. First, there is the obvious message that from the heavenly economy of created spirit beings, God interacts with this material world.

Biblical Imagery

This is the imagery of the angels going up and down on the ladder and it is repeated thread throughout the biblical narrative. So, from It’s a Wonderful Life and angels getting their wings, to Touched by an Angel, to innumerable entertainments, songs, stories and tales, we have the premise reimagined – there are angels among us. In the very first chapter of John’s gospel, we read it being wrapped up with the following account beginning at verse 47:

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to

The Role of Jesus in Bridging Heaven and Earth

him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The Old Testament Account

Do we ever read of this being fulfilled in the life of Nathaniel? No, and yes. See, we have this Old Testament account. And from it we get the idea of angels coming down to earth and angels ascending up to heaven. The ladder then, for some, becomes an image of the gap between heaven and earth and the means by which heavenly creations interact with earth AND then some assume that this ladder is emblematic of our reaching God in heaven – which unfortunately suggests to some that we have to climb.

As a former Latter-Day Saint this was the common explanation they would give for God’s grace – that each individual has to climb as high as they can, by their own will and strength and power and reach the highest rung, and then God will graciously reach down and lift everyone who has really given it “the old college try” and He will graciously carry them the rest of the way into the heavenly realm. This is a lie. But it is one that certainly makes sense to the natural man or woman and the way we think – but it’s not part of biblical Truth.

Jesus as the Ladder

The fact of the matter is, this ladder, in the end, is not a symbol for angels descending and man ascending, nor is it something that we have to climb from our own strength, but the ladder is Jesus Christ himself. All through the Old Testament we will be confronted with types that Jesus Himself will ultimately bring to life in and through Himself and this is one of those things – Jacobs Ladder. See, the LADDER had its feet on the earth but the top of it reached into heaven; Is this not a direct picture of GOD Himself being manifested in the FLESH?

This particular ladder is a super expressive emblem of the incarnation and the origin of Jesus Christ – as He himself said, I am from above, you are from below. In the end, He is the true medium between heaven and earth and therefore He is the true medium between God and human beings. By and through him God comes down to man; and by and through him man ascends to God. Him – not a ladder. He is the ladder. I find it personally interesting that a ladder, if twisted, reflects a double-stranded helix which is the basis for DNA.

The Function of Jesus as the Connection

In this fantastic physical imagery of Christ incarnate, we find the make-up of Jesus Christ. When Jesus speaks to Nathaniel we notice that He says: “Hereafter ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man,” ON the Son of Man – so this has nothing to do with us going up the ladder but heavenly messengers going up and down on Him, the Son of Man. This could have allusion to the miracles that He would perform by and through the power of heaven, manifested by Him giving sight, sound, limbs, and life to others.

It could be represented by Him calming the sea, the wild donkey, casting demons out and raising the dead. All such things were done by Him having the approbation of His Father and since He is the Ladder, “the going up and down of angels on Him” might specifically mean the power of heaven coming down to empower and bless Him and His prayers and focus going up to His Father. Also, in terms of Him being the Ladder, we readily recall Jesus telling Thomas, “I am the WAY, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” We do not climb Jesus – we receive Jesus, in faith, we cling to Jesus as He has done everything necessary. He is the

Jacob's Vision and God's Promise

Ladder. He is the Vine. We are the branches abiding in Him and therefore have our tie to earth in the flesh that surrounds us and our tie to heaven above by the Spirit within. Remember what is happening here and who is involved.

Read verse 13 and 14 and what God says to Jacob here in his vision:

“And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Of course, we know the means by which the seed of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham would be blessed – through the Messiah who would come and to all people who receive Him in faith.

A Misunderstanding of Jacob's Ladder

As mentioned with the LDS, some miss the mark by actually tying the ladder to the Christian walk – appealing to imagery like: It takes faith to climb each rung, trusting that it is firm on the ground and cannot be moved. And that the higher and higher we climb the more faith it takes. It’s a great analogy but it misses the mark. A better analogy to explain the ladder would be if Jacob saw an elevator where we get in by faith on the ground floor and trust that the elevator (Christ) had the capacity and qualities to take us all to the top while we do nothing but trust.

Take careful note of what God says to Jacob here in verse 14: And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Not only those who cling to Him the Ladder, but in and through the Word of God being made flesh, having feet on the earth and a mind in the heavens, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

God's Inclusive Promise

How? Let’s count the ways: First note that this is not a new promise but is an iteration of the one given to Abraham where God also told him in Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Does this not describe a non-absentee God! Does it describe a non-selective, respecter of persons God! A God who loves all of the families of the earth!

We know what our first parents introduced to the world, don’t we? SinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., condemnation, Satan’s power and reign, separation from God and therefore death. But Paul wrote in Romans 5:18, “Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Is that not amazing? Justification of life upon all men?! That’s right.

Justification and Overcoming Death

Of course, we have no justification of life in the face of our sin and so this speaks to another gift Jesus brought the world – a final singular payment for all sin WHICH is why we are all possess a justification of life! This is why Paul wrote in 1st Timothy 4:10, For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.

Having removed the wages of our sin from us – which is death – we then see that He also overcame death for all of us, as the writer of Hebrews wrote:

Hebrew 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

People argue that He did not overcome death for all – only believers – but the writer of Hebrews makes it plain that the “payment of death,” which is, “the wages of sin,” was for all. Some cannot believe that this payment has already been made. But listen to what Paul writes in 2nd Timothy 1:10, speaking of God says.

But is now made

The Abolition of Death and The Resurrection

Manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death, (past tense) and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

Of course His work is spiritually derived, and so death continues to occur in this material realm, but it has been abolished in every form. God’s wrath has been abated, God has been reconciled to the world, as we plainly read

2nd Corinthians 5:18-19
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Recipients of Grace and Resurrection

And finally, Jesus the Ladder has made it so all will be resurrected. That means we will all continue on in the heavenly realm above in an identifiable form.

Who are recipients of all of this? All the families of the earth – no condemnation as sin has been paid, and death has been overcome, and God has been reconciled to us and His wrath does not abide, and we are all now recipients of a resurrected body – because He, Our Ladder, the first-fruits, overcame the grave where Satan once kept us bound and separate from our Maker.

Then finally, Jesus offers all the families of the world a kingdom – if they want it – by coming to Him by faith, continuing in His Word, being disciples in deed, knowing the truth and letting that truth – Him – set us free.

The Choice of Belief

Those who elect this path in life, through Him, become heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ – and any and every obstacle that once stood in the way has been removed leaving all of us responsible, all things considered, with the choices we make.

I praise God, thank God, for giving us His only Son, who overcame sin, death, Satan, hell, separation and the grave on behalf of the WORLD. And now gives us the choice on how to live, rewarding all souls with the results.

Questions/Comments/Prayer

David Laura Patrick Family