Journey Through the Bible in a Year
Reading God's Word and learning more about His plan for my life each day!
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Introduction to Journey Through the Bible
A note about online study
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank you for another day to worship You! I praise You that I can gather with other believers to sing to Your glory and honor, to confess that You alone are God and that I have fallen short of the relationship You established with me through Jesus and be forgiven. I pray that our worship will truly be the result of Your Spirit’s presence and truth among us. Guide us in all that we say and do, so that our worship will please You and equip us to go out into the world and live the Good News. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My Journey Verses for Today
Genesis 27:1-40
1 When Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?" "Yes, Father?" Esau replied. 2 "I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die." 5 But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau 7 to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD's presence before he dies. 8 Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them. 10 Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies." 11 "But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is! 12 What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me." 13 "Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats." 14 So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them. 16 She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck. 17 Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread. 18 Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?" "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it – Esau or Jacob?" 19 Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 20 Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the LORD your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here. I want to touch you to make sure you really are Esau." 22 So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "Yes, of course," Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said, 26 "Come here and kiss me, my son." 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and good harvests of grain and wine. 29 May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed." 30 As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip. 31 Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 32 But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son." 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came." 34 When Esau understood, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "O my father, bless me, too!" he begged. 35 But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has carried away your blessing." 36 Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?" 37 Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine – what is there left to give?" 38 Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 His father, Isaac, said to him, "You will live off the land and what it yields, 40 and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free."
Reflecting on God's Word for My Journey
What is the worst trick that anyone ever played on you?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word for My Journey
What is the situation in today’s Scripture? (27:1-40)
What is the outcome of Rebekah’s convincing Jacob to take Isaac’s blessing from Esau? (27:5-40)
Understanding God's Will for My Journey
What do we find out about God’s will through reading today’s Scripture?
What is the significance for the future of Jacob’s receiving both Esau’s birthright and blessing?
Applying What God's Word Tells Me to My Journey
What is the one thing you will do as a result of reading today’s Scripture?
My Personal Journey Thought for the Day—“Mother's Favorite!”
Today’s Scripture reading leaves us no doubt that Rebekah really did like Jacob better than Esau! It was her plan for Jacob to steal Esau’s blessing. Jacob hesitated about doing it until Rebekah said that the curse would fall on her if Isaac found out that Jacob was trying to trick him. Why would a mother do such a thing? Perhaps it was God’s word to her while the boys were still in her womb. God had said that Jacob would be the master over Esau. Perhaps Rebekah simply saw what she was doing as fulfilling God’s will. We don’t know for sure. What we do know is that it WAS God’s plan for Jacob to rule over Esau, and that his receiving the blessing from his father was an important part of that plan! While it seems unlikely that God would endorse a mother’s favoritism, it’s obvious that God’s will is carried out through it!
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