18 He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes,
my son," he answered. "Who is it?" 19 Jacob said to hisfather, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you toldme. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that youmay give me your blessing." - P128
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched himand said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the handsare the hands of Esau." - P128
24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," hereplied. - P129
29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down toyou. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons ofyour mother bow down to you. May those who curseyou be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." - P129
Jacob lies to Isaac and even misuses the name of God as a part of his deception. - P130
The nature of deceit is that it tends to escalate, as the lies build upon each other,
dulling our conscience in the process. Like
snowball rolling down a hill, deceit can quickly grow out of control.
- P130
While lying can sometimes feel like the easy way to get what we want,
our lies will inevitably catch up to us as Jacob will soon find out. - P130
The truth, on the other hand, may be
confronting and uncomfortable at first,
but it will set us free from the burdens of guilt, shame, and secrecy.
- P130
May we always seek to live with honesty and integrity, as nothing can be hidden
from God. - P130
Jacob receives a blessing that he does not deserve. As the younger son, it goes
against custom to receive a blessing usually reserved for the eldest.
- P130
Furthermore, he is a liar who only receives the blessing by deceiving his old, ailing
father. In Jacob‘s story, we see a foreshadowing of our own undeserved blessing. - P130
According to tradition, God‘s blessing was reserved for physical descendants of
Abraham, but He chose to graciously adopt us into His family. - P130
In addition, we were all born into sin and deserve God‘s wrath, but He chose to send His Son to suffer the consequences of our sin so that
we could receive the blessing of eternal life. - P130
Praise God for His amazing grace and love, poured out abundantly uponundeserving sinners like us. - P130
Father God, I praise You for the abundant blessings You have given me in Christ.
- P130
Though I deserved death, You gave me the gift of everlasting life. - P130
Help me to always walk in the truth,
remembering that You see all things. In Jesus‘ name, amen. - P130
34 When Esau heard his father‘s words, heburst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to hisfather, "Bless me-me too, my father!" 35 But he said,
"Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."
- P134
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because ofthe blessing his father had given him. He said to himself,
"The days of mourning for my father are near; then Iwill kill mybrother Jacob." - P135
44 Stay with him for a while until yoursubsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry withyou and forgets what you did to him, I‘ll send word foryou to come back from there. Why should I lose bothof you in one day?" - P135
After Jacob‘s successful scheme, Esau returns to his father with delicious food from
his hunt. - P136
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