Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 27:46-28:4

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?

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.

2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, 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.

Rebekah needed an excuse to send Jacob away from their home, and we know from previous verses that she was distressed by the pagan wives that Esau had married. And so, killing two birds with one stone, she convinced Isaac to send Jacob to her childhood home to find a wife within the covenant.

It is interesting to note in verse 4 how Isaac admits that Jacob is the rightful heir of Abraham’s blessing. Is this Isaac accepting the outcome of Jacob’s trickery then? Is this him showing that even though he had intended to give the blessing to Esau, he was going to honor what had transpired instead?

I think this moment of Isaac reassuring the blessing upon his son is significant. There is no deception this time, there is no being blinded from the truth. Isaac has a perfectly clear and accurate understanding of this moment, and he is using it to show his support of Jacob.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 27:42-45

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?

I can’t help but wonder whether Rebekah really believed that Esau would get over his anger so quickly when she told Jacob he would only be gone for “a few days,” or if she was just trying to break the bad news softly.

The reality was that Jacob would be gone for many years, at least fourteen and quite possibly more than twenty-five, and when he came back, he would still be afraid of his brother’s wrath. Rebekah had vowed that any holy retribution for their deceit would be upon her own head, but she didn’t have the ability to circumvent Esau’s wrath onto herself as well. Jacob had listened to his mother to his own detriment.

Or…so it would seem. As it would turn out, the hand of God was in all of this. Though it must have been a grim morning when Jacob set out from his childhood home, it was just what he needed to enter the larger story that Heavenly Father had prepared for him.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 27:11-13, 15-17

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Yesterday I mentioned my ambition to read this chapter and consider whether it had more meaning than I had previously realized. And for the first time I noticed that these verses seem to be a symbolism for the gospel of Jesus Christ, something I had never seen before.

Recall these three passages:

Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Ephesians 4:22, 24 "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

In summary, the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches that we are all unworthy on our own, and salvation can only come through Christ. And so we put off our old self and put on the new man, meaning we put on the image of Christ. And when we come to the final judgment we do not stand in our own place, but we are invited to stand in the place of Jesus, the only one who is worthy to receive God’s blessings.

Now, is this there not a shadow of this transpiring in the story of Jacob and Esau? Jacob cannot receive the blessing on his own, so he puts on the trappings of his elder brother. He becomes the man to whom his father can bestow the choicest blessings. And Rebekah even says that any curse that applies to her son will be removed from him and laid on her instead, which is also symbolic of our curse being laid upon Christ so that we may go free.

Granted, I am sure that in the final judgment Jesus will not be dressing us up to try and deceive our Heavenly Father. We will not be sneaking our way into heaven under false pretenses. Yet there definitely seems to be a parallel here, and Rebekah and Jacob were led into this symbolism not knowing the significance of it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 27:5-10

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

This is the first we have heard directly from Rebekah since her introduction to Abraham’s servant, and this is a very different side of her from that sweet, industrious girl. In this scene she is planning a deception, one that is elaborate and bold.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that she has played a part in a deception, there was that time Isaac asked her to say that she was his sister, and not his wife, when they traveled in the land of the Philistines. And perhaps, in some way, this trick that is played on Isaac is a karmic retribution for his part in that deceit.

But something that stood out to me as I read these verses was that Moses gave an entire chapter dedicated to this one, small story. Of all the experiences in Esau and Jacob’s childhood, the two that were chosen to define them were the one of Esau selling his birthright and this one, with all other years just skimmed over. I’ve never seen much spiritual significance to this tale, but the realization that it was given in detail, rather than in a single passing verse, has me thinking that I ought to look more closely as I continue. Perhaps there is a lesson I have missed every time before.

Posted on by Abe Austin · 2 Comments

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:63-65, 67

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

This story is a metaphor for the work of bringing souls to Christ. Consider the final exchange between Rebekah and the servant.

“What man is this?”

“It is my master.”

First Rebekah was converted to the idea of joining herself to Isaac by the servant. Then she was shown the road to reach him, and when they arrived the servant introduced her. Finally, the servant exited the story, leaving Rebekah to his master’s care. Is that not the same as bringing souls to Christ? We preach of him, we lead those that are willing to his presence, we introduce them to the master, and we leave them in his care.

And for his part, Isaac is comforted by Rebekah’s presence. He loves her and he will be devoted to her, just as our Savior loves and is devoted to us.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:59-60

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

I wonder if Laban and Rebekah’s mother realized how appropriate the blessing they gave to Rebekah was. I wouldn’t be surprised if “be thou the mother of thousands of millions” was a generic wish given to every new bride, but in her case it actually became a reality.

Abraham was promised to be a father of many nations, but that covenant only passed on to a single son, Isaac. Thus Isaac and Rebekah bear the full weight of the blessing as well, destined to be the progenitors of an entire nation. Actually, two nations. From Rebekah would come both the Israelite branch and the Edomite, though the covenant heritage would only pass through the former.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:50-52, 55-56, 58

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

Rebekah’s brother and mother heard the story of Abraham’s servant and saw the hand of the Lord in all that had transpired. Their personal opinions don’t matter. Even if they were opposed (which they don’t seem to be) this is the will of their Lord, and so they would not try to stand against it. Rebekah’s destiny has come calling, and they will faithfully comply.

Of course, they are sad to see her go, and they want her to stay a while before departing. The servant has no interest in procrastinating his duty, though. His attitude reminds me of Jesus’s injunction that “no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). When one is being led by the hand of the Lord–as he clearly is–it does not feel right to delay.

And when Rebekah is questioned on the matter she is of the same mind. The rest of her life lays before her, and every delay is only more time wasted. She goes with the man immediately.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 22:20-23

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

Previously we learned about Abraham’s family, which had included his father Terah, brothers Nahor and Haran, and nephew Lot. Terah, Abraham, and Lot had left the land of the Chaldees for Canaan, but Haran died and Nahor had stayed behind. In today’s verses we learn that Nahor had become a father to eight sons of his own, the youngest of which was Bethuel.

These verses may seem like a random aside, but in a couple chapters this information will become very relevant when Abraham’s servant seeks a suitable wife for Isaac, and finds her in Bethuel’s daughter, Rebekah.

It is interesting that Isaac and his cousin Bethuel presumably never met one another. Their fathers parted ways long before they were even born. Yet one’s heritage and kin remain of great importance in the Biblical narratives, and distance and time do not dim the connections one has to their family.