The Blessing of Esau
by
Philip du Nard
Our study of Jacob and Esau would not be complete without giving some consideration to the blessing that Isaac bestowed upon Esau.
Aside from the personal spiritual lessons that we might glean from the lives of these two personages, some might wonder of what possible relevance such a study would hold for believers. But if we realize that Genesis is a book of beginnings, we should see that while the personal examples given here are certainly of relevance to us as St. Paul said they were, God also is setting forth here His blueprint for world civilization and the kingdom of God. That the covenant promises which God made to the fathers were intended to be a refuge and a source of comfort even in the Church age is evident from Hebrews 6:13-20.Thus we should avoid the temptation of erecting a circle around ourselves and John 3:16 as some have done and imply by our actions that that is all that matters.
As we seek to understand the troubled times in which we live, it should not seem to the believer, anyway, to be an overstatement that if we are to be successful in this, we must first understand Genesis as it has more to do with what is going on than we might presently realize.
When Isaac and Esau both learn that Jacob is the one who received the blessing, we cannot help but notice the contrast between how Esau so readily forfeited his birthright and how he wept at losing the blessing. See Genesis 27:38.
Isaac then pronounces a blessing on Esau that we would gather to be a consolation prize of sorts. In verses 39-40, we read, "And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; "
This is rather intriguing to ponder or at least it should be. Let us first recall the blessing of Jacob which we noted in the last article which states, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people 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 he that blesseth thee." Jacob had and was to have the smell of the field which the Lord had blessed and have plenty of food and would be a leader among the nations- " A great and mighty nation" as God told Abraham. Notice a degree of similarity with Esau to whom Isaac says, "Thy dwelling shall be the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth." What do we make of this? Notice that he did not say, "God give thee..." as he said to Jacob but "Thy dwelling shall be..."Esau would enjoy some of the same blessings of Jacob but perhaps only because of living in proximity to Jacob. They would not be truly his, however.
Continuing on, Isaac told Esau, "And by thy sword shalt thou live,.." Many nations have a military tradition of sorts. When we consider all the wars that the descendants of Jacob were involved in in Biblical times and also that it was prophesied that "Israel shall do valiantly" Num. 24:18, we might be tempted to think that this could be said of Jacob as well. But there must be something different about this. It would seem that the position of Esau would, overall, be more precarious than that of Jacob.
The blessing continues, " and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." This is where the relationship between these two peoples gets interesting. While Esau would be subservient to Jacob, there would come a time when Esau would have the dominion, that is, the tables would be turned. Esau would not only break free, but apparently would have some dominion over Jacob.
How could such a thing happen and why would God let it happen? In Deut. 28:43, the Almighty told Jacob-Israel through Moses that if they would not walk in His commandments that one of the curses they would incur is that, "The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." Like many peoples, Jacob would have an alien minority within and as Jacob walked in disobedience to God, God would allow this group to gain a measure of control or dominion over Jacob, especially in the financial realm. This is how Esau could turn the tables on Jacob.
Immediately after Isaac blesses Esau, we read in 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."Evidently, Esau could not be content with the idea of one day achieving dominion. Yet it is this hatred that would help bring this about. Ezekiel 35 is devoted to God passing judgment upon Mt.Seir which was the Biblical home of the descendants of Esau. Reference is made in verse 5 to a "perpetual hatred" which Esau's descendants had exhibited toward the descendants of Jacob. Therefore, we are justified in taking the position that the animosity that existed between Esau and Jacob in their earthly lives is something that would continue down through the ages.
Let us keep our perspective here. We know from the Scriptures that God is not a respecter of persons and there undoubtedly are any number of descendants of Esau who have given their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ or whom we might otherwise rightly judge to be honorable individuals or humanly good people just as there are descendants of Jacob who have remained hardened in unbelief and, perhaps, done more harm than some from Esau. But these are broad outlines of how God has used these respective peoples which we are safe in calling attention to as the Scriptures themselves call attention to them.
We have the picture of a people, ever in the shadow of the place and power among nations occupied by their more numerous brothers and resentful of that, and, driven by this hatred, ever working from within against great disadvantage and danger to succeed in achieving prominence, distinction, and power over their brethren in what would appear to be an agelong effort to reclaim the lost birthright. One manifestation of that was the attempt to lay claim to the promised land ( See Ezekiel 35:10 and which God said would come to nought. Malachi 1:4.
All of this was partially fulfilled in Biblical times. But as the prophetic Word makes it plain that we have not heard the last of Jacob-Israel, so some of the long range prophecies pertaining to Esau suggest we have not seen or heard the last of that people either.
These are Biblical facts that should be readily acceptable by all. It is when one strives to identify who is who that "the fur flies" so to speak and controversy ensues among Christians. But making this identification is essential to the extent that that is possible not only for the sake of understanding and perspective on present events but, to a certain extent, to enable us to "prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God" as we are enjoined to do in Rom.12:2.
There is a new teaching today that the descendants of Esau were absorbed by the Arabs and the animosity that the Arabs and Palestinians are exhibiting toward the Jews and, more particularly, the state of Israel, is a manifestation of the hatred that Esau has had for Jacob. But historians of antiquity have recorded how the descendants of Esau came to be assimilated by the Jews, not the Arabs, in the intertestamental period and even possessed some of the territory previously occupied by the people of Judah and henceforth were known as Jews.
But however useful and revealing such information from secular history may be or how reliable it may or may not be, let us return to the Scriptures for light and understanding. The Arabs traditionally have been regarded by themselves and by others as constituting the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. This is in harmony with what God told Hagar, the mother of Ishmael in Genesis 16:10-12:"And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
It is easy to see some of these traits manifested in the Arab peoples over the centuries and they certainly do constitute a great multitude, spread out as they are across North Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, again speaking of Ishmael, God told Abraham in Genesis 17:20, "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." Even in modern times, depending on how one figures it, one could probably come up with twelve Arab states, more or less.
But of Esau, speaking through the prophet Obadiah,God says, "Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised."Do we know of such a people? The present Israeli state is certainly a small, non-Christian state among the heathen that is greatly despised by its neighbors and, like Esau of old, has laid claim to the promised land. Ever since the establishment of that state, the Israelis have had to live by their "sword."
This attempted usurpation of the birthright promises is bringing the world to the brink of war.
Admittedly, such a view is in violent contrast to the prevailing interpretation of events held by Christians. Thus, it may be greatly disturbing to some. But let us consider more Scripture pertaining to the Jews. It should be recalled from our earlier discussions that the term, Jew, is derived from the tribal name of Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and only a portion of Jacob's descendants came to be known as Jews, The nation of Israel was divided in the time of Solomon's son, King Rehoboam about 900 years before Christ into the northern kingdom of the house of Israel and the southern kingdom of the house of Judah. The Jews do not even constitute all of Judah but, as a remnant of the house of Judah, they undoubtedly have an element of Judah. But it seems beyond the grasp of the organized clergy that, at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the southern kingdom became divided as well, spiritually and prophetically. In Jeremiah 24 the people of Judah were divided symbolically into a "basket of good figs" and a "basket of evil figs." Of the evil figs, God says in verse 9, "And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them." This was not the group that was to inherit the promises.Confounding together the differing respective fates of these two groups in the minds of Christian people has seemingly disabled to some extent their capacity for spiritual discernment. It is a matter of history that the people known to us as the Jews have experienced the fate of the basket of evil figs and though they have not put it in these terms, they, themselves have not been lax in recounting to the world what their experience has been and thus testify as to which group they fall into.
It is to this latter group that the descendants of Esau were later added. That is only fitting as their respective prophetic fates were to be very similar.
Thus, permit me to restate our commentary given above on the blessing of Esau. We have the picture of a people, ever in the shadow of the place and power among nations occupied by their more numerous brothers and resentful of that, and, driven by this hatred, ever working from within against great disadvantage and danger to succeed in achieving prominence, distinction, and power over their brethren in what would appear to be an agelong effort to reclaim the lost birthright. One manifestation of that was the attempt to lay claim to the promised land ( See Ezekiel 35) and which God said would come to nought (Malachi 1:4).
This characterizes rather well, I think, the relationship of the Jew with the nations of Christendom. Much has been made of hatred directed at Jews. Since Jews are human too, it would seem strange if this were not a two way street. They have suffered and struggled but have succeeded in achieving a degree of preeminence in various realms out of proportion to their numbers, including high positions of appointment within our political structure. (*) Some non-Jews have presented this in a positive light as a reflection of their genius and others have cast it in a negative light as evidence of evil intent and it is more politically correct to deny it altogether but it has happened. The popular view is that this is a manifestation and fulfillment of God's blessing upon Abraham and his descendants. But I am of the view that this is a fulfillment of what Isaac said of Esau gaining the dominion over Jacob.
It is well to remember that this dominion is contingent upon Jacob's disobedience to God and will cease when God's Israel finally repents of her national iniquities. Thus it is that the secularization of society and the deChristianization of the nations of Christendom favors the Jew.
* For more in depth study of this topic, see Benjamin Ginsberg, The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State,, The University of Chicago Press 1993
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Philip du Nard
Our study of Jacob and Esau would not be complete without giving some consideration to the blessing that Isaac bestowed upon Esau.
Aside from the personal spiritual lessons that we might glean from the lives of these two personages, some might wonder of what possible relevance such a study would hold for believers. But if we realize that Genesis is a book of beginnings, we should see that while the personal examples given here are certainly of relevance to us as St. Paul said they were, God also is setting forth here His blueprint for world civilization and the kingdom of God. That the covenant promises which God made to the fathers were intended to be a refuge and a source of comfort even in the Church age is evident from Hebrews 6:13-20.Thus we should avoid the temptation of erecting a circle around ourselves and John 3:16 as some have done and imply by our actions that that is all that matters.
As we seek to understand the troubled times in which we live, it should not seem to the believer, anyway, to be an overstatement that if we are to be successful in this, we must first understand Genesis as it has more to do with what is going on than we might presently realize.
When Isaac and Esau both learn that Jacob is the one who received the blessing, we cannot help but notice the contrast between how Esau so readily forfeited his birthright and how he wept at losing the blessing. See Genesis 27:38.
Isaac then pronounces a blessing on Esau that we would gather to be a consolation prize of sorts. In verses 39-40, we read, "And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; "
This is rather intriguing to ponder or at least it should be. Let us first recall the blessing of Jacob which we noted in the last article which states, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people 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 he that blesseth thee." Jacob had and was to have the smell of the field which the Lord had blessed and have plenty of food and would be a leader among the nations- " A great and mighty nation" as God told Abraham. Notice a degree of similarity with Esau to whom Isaac says, "Thy dwelling shall be the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth." What do we make of this? Notice that he did not say, "God give thee..." as he said to Jacob but "Thy dwelling shall be..."Esau would enjoy some of the same blessings of Jacob but perhaps only because of living in proximity to Jacob. They would not be truly his, however.
Continuing on, Isaac told Esau, "And by thy sword shalt thou live,.." Many nations have a military tradition of sorts. When we consider all the wars that the descendants of Jacob were involved in in Biblical times and also that it was prophesied that "Israel shall do valiantly" Num. 24:18, we might be tempted to think that this could be said of Jacob as well. But there must be something different about this. It would seem that the position of Esau would, overall, be more precarious than that of Jacob.
The blessing continues, " and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." This is where the relationship between these two peoples gets interesting. While Esau would be subservient to Jacob, there would come a time when Esau would have the dominion, that is, the tables would be turned. Esau would not only break free, but apparently would have some dominion over Jacob.
How could such a thing happen and why would God let it happen? In Deut. 28:43, the Almighty told Jacob-Israel through Moses that if they would not walk in His commandments that one of the curses they would incur is that, "The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." Like many peoples, Jacob would have an alien minority within and as Jacob walked in disobedience to God, God would allow this group to gain a measure of control or dominion over Jacob, especially in the financial realm. This is how Esau could turn the tables on Jacob.
Immediately after Isaac blesses Esau, we read in 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."Evidently, Esau could not be content with the idea of one day achieving dominion. Yet it is this hatred that would help bring this about. Ezekiel 35 is devoted to God passing judgment upon Mt.Seir which was the Biblical home of the descendants of Esau. Reference is made in verse 5 to a "perpetual hatred" which Esau's descendants had exhibited toward the descendants of Jacob. Therefore, we are justified in taking the position that the animosity that existed between Esau and Jacob in their earthly lives is something that would continue down through the ages.
Let us keep our perspective here. We know from the Scriptures that God is not a respecter of persons and there undoubtedly are any number of descendants of Esau who have given their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ or whom we might otherwise rightly judge to be honorable individuals or humanly good people just as there are descendants of Jacob who have remained hardened in unbelief and, perhaps, done more harm than some from Esau. But these are broad outlines of how God has used these respective peoples which we are safe in calling attention to as the Scriptures themselves call attention to them.
We have the picture of a people, ever in the shadow of the place and power among nations occupied by their more numerous brothers and resentful of that, and, driven by this hatred, ever working from within against great disadvantage and danger to succeed in achieving prominence, distinction, and power over their brethren in what would appear to be an agelong effort to reclaim the lost birthright. One manifestation of that was the attempt to lay claim to the promised land ( See Ezekiel 35:10 and which God said would come to nought. Malachi 1:4.
All of this was partially fulfilled in Biblical times. But as the prophetic Word makes it plain that we have not heard the last of Jacob-Israel, so some of the long range prophecies pertaining to Esau suggest we have not seen or heard the last of that people either.
These are Biblical facts that should be readily acceptable by all. It is when one strives to identify who is who that "the fur flies" so to speak and controversy ensues among Christians. But making this identification is essential to the extent that that is possible not only for the sake of understanding and perspective on present events but, to a certain extent, to enable us to "prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God" as we are enjoined to do in Rom.12:2.
There is a new teaching today that the descendants of Esau were absorbed by the Arabs and the animosity that the Arabs and Palestinians are exhibiting toward the Jews and, more particularly, the state of Israel, is a manifestation of the hatred that Esau has had for Jacob. But historians of antiquity have recorded how the descendants of Esau came to be assimilated by the Jews, not the Arabs, in the intertestamental period and even possessed some of the territory previously occupied by the people of Judah and henceforth were known as Jews.
But however useful and revealing such information from secular history may be or how reliable it may or may not be, let us return to the Scriptures for light and understanding. The Arabs traditionally have been regarded by themselves and by others as constituting the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. This is in harmony with what God told Hagar, the mother of Ishmael in Genesis 16:10-12:"And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
It is easy to see some of these traits manifested in the Arab peoples over the centuries and they certainly do constitute a great multitude, spread out as they are across North Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, again speaking of Ishmael, God told Abraham in Genesis 17:20, "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." Even in modern times, depending on how one figures it, one could probably come up with twelve Arab states, more or less.
But of Esau, speaking through the prophet Obadiah,God says, "Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised."Do we know of such a people? The present Israeli state is certainly a small, non-Christian state among the heathen that is greatly despised by its neighbors and, like Esau of old, has laid claim to the promised land. Ever since the establishment of that state, the Israelis have had to live by their "sword."
This attempted usurpation of the birthright promises is bringing the world to the brink of war.
Admittedly, such a view is in violent contrast to the prevailing interpretation of events held by Christians. Thus, it may be greatly disturbing to some. But let us consider more Scripture pertaining to the Jews. It should be recalled from our earlier discussions that the term, Jew, is derived from the tribal name of Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and only a portion of Jacob's descendants came to be known as Jews, The nation of Israel was divided in the time of Solomon's son, King Rehoboam about 900 years before Christ into the northern kingdom of the house of Israel and the southern kingdom of the house of Judah. The Jews do not even constitute all of Judah but, as a remnant of the house of Judah, they undoubtedly have an element of Judah. But it seems beyond the grasp of the organized clergy that, at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the southern kingdom became divided as well, spiritually and prophetically. In Jeremiah 24 the people of Judah were divided symbolically into a "basket of good figs" and a "basket of evil figs." Of the evil figs, God says in verse 9, "And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them." This was not the group that was to inherit the promises.Confounding together the differing respective fates of these two groups in the minds of Christian people has seemingly disabled to some extent their capacity for spiritual discernment. It is a matter of history that the people known to us as the Jews have experienced the fate of the basket of evil figs and though they have not put it in these terms, they, themselves have not been lax in recounting to the world what their experience has been and thus testify as to which group they fall into.
It is to this latter group that the descendants of Esau were later added. That is only fitting as their respective prophetic fates were to be very similar.
Thus, permit me to restate our commentary given above on the blessing of Esau. We have the picture of a people, ever in the shadow of the place and power among nations occupied by their more numerous brothers and resentful of that, and, driven by this hatred, ever working from within against great disadvantage and danger to succeed in achieving prominence, distinction, and power over their brethren in what would appear to be an agelong effort to reclaim the lost birthright. One manifestation of that was the attempt to lay claim to the promised land ( See Ezekiel 35) and which God said would come to nought (Malachi 1:4).
This characterizes rather well, I think, the relationship of the Jew with the nations of Christendom. Much has been made of hatred directed at Jews. Since Jews are human too, it would seem strange if this were not a two way street. They have suffered and struggled but have succeeded in achieving a degree of preeminence in various realms out of proportion to their numbers, including high positions of appointment within our political structure. (*) Some non-Jews have presented this in a positive light as a reflection of their genius and others have cast it in a negative light as evidence of evil intent and it is more politically correct to deny it altogether but it has happened. The popular view is that this is a manifestation and fulfillment of God's blessing upon Abraham and his descendants. But I am of the view that this is a fulfillment of what Isaac said of Esau gaining the dominion over Jacob.
It is well to remember that this dominion is contingent upon Jacob's disobedience to God and will cease when God's Israel finally repents of her national iniquities. Thus it is that the secularization of society and the deChristianization of the nations of Christendom favors the Jew.
* For more in depth study of this topic, see Benjamin Ginsberg, The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State,, The University of Chicago Press 1993
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