Genesis 27:30 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, the covenant blessing denied to Esau. He had treated his birthright lightly, and now he would have inherited the blessing too, but he was rejected. Hebrews 12:17 says that even though he sought it carefully with tears, he found no place of repentance in his father. That means Isaac would not change his mind.

Notice how hard Esau tried. He prepared the savory food just as his father had told him, and then asked for the blessing his father had led him to expect (Genesis 27:31). When he learned that Jacob had gained it by deceit, he let out a loud and bitter cry (Genesis 27:34). Later, he cried again and wept aloud (Genesis 27:38). No one could have felt the loss more deeply than he did.

This warns us that the day is coming when people who now treat covenant blessings lightly will beg for them in vain. Those who will not ask and seek now may one day be forced to cry, “Lord, Lord.” Those who look down on Christ now may then come to him as desperate petitioners.

Isaac was shocked when he realized he had been deceived, and he trembled greatly (Genesis 27:33). People who follow their own feelings instead of God’s will often bring confusion on themselves. But Isaac soon gave way to God’s purpose and confirmed the blessing he had already spoken: “I have blessed him, and he will be blessed.” He could have taken it back on human grounds, but now he saw that he had been wrong to intend it for Esau.

He may have remembered God’s earlier word, or he may have felt unusually guided by the Holy Spirit when he spoke the blessing to Jacob. In either case, he now saw that God had said yes to it. Jacob was strengthened in his possession of the blessing, and he could be sure it was real, even though he had gained it by deceit. He also had reason to hope that God had pardoned his wrongdoing.

Isaac, too, submitted to God’s will, even though it went against his own hopes and love for Esau. He had wanted to bless Esau, but when he saw God’s will was different, he yielded by faith (Hebrews 11:20), just as Abraham had done when he pleaded for Ishmael. Does not God have the right to do what he wills with what belongs to him?

Esau was cut off from the special blessing he had hoped to keep, even after selling his birthright. This teaches us that it is not the person who wills or runs that decides the matter, but God who shows mercy (Romans 9:16). The apostle seems to point to this very story. Esau wanted the blessing and ran after it, but God had chosen it for Jacob, so that God’s purpose in election, God’s choosing of one over another, would stand (Romans 9:11).

The same pattern appeared later with Israel. The Jews, like Esau, chased after the law of righteousness, that is, right standing with God, but they missed it because they tried to earn it by the works of the law (Romans 9:31-32). The Gentiles, like Jacob, received it by faith in God’s word, and they gained it with the earnestness that the kingdom of heaven calls for (Matthew 11:12).

This also shows that those who undervalue their spiritual birthright, and are willing to sell it for a piece of food, lose spiritual blessings. It is just for God to deny favors to those who were careless with them. If people part with wisdom, grace, faith, or a good conscience for honor, wealth, or pleasure, they may claim to want the blessing, but they have already shown themselves unworthy of it.

It also shows that anger lifted in the wrong way is useless. Esau did not repent of his own foolishness. Instead, he blamed Jacob, unfairly accusing him of taking away the birthright, which Esau had sold fairly (Genesis 27:36). Then he grew bitter toward his brother because of what had happened (Genesis 27:41). People are not likely to be heard in prayer when they turn their anger on others instead of on their own sin.

Another warning is that those who wait too long will be rejected. That was Esau’s ruin, he came too late. There is an accepted time, when God may be found, but there is also a time when he will not answer those who call, because they ignored the right season. See Proverbs 1:28. God’s patience and our chance to respond will not last forever. The day of grace will end, and the door will be shut. Then many who now despise the blessing will seek it carefully, because they will finally see its value and realize they are lost without it, but it will be too late (Luke 13:25-27). Oh, that we would know today the things that make for our peace.

Second, here is a common blessing given to Esau. He asked for it: “Bless me also” (Genesis 27:34). “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?” he said (Genesis 27:36). Even the worst people know how to wish well for themselves, and even those who shamelessly sell their birthright still seem to want a blessing. Many people ruin themselves with weak wishes for happiness, while refusing the right goal and the right path to it. Multitudes go to hell with their mouths full of good desires. The desire of the lazy and unbelieving destroys them. Many will try to enter later, like Esau, but will not be able, because they did not strive in time (Luke 13:24).

Most people are willing to settle for any kind of good, and Esau was like that here. He wanted a lesser blessing, one separate from the birthright. A worldly heart thinks any blessing is as good as the one God gives through his own word. “Have you only one blessing?” he seemed to say. In effect, he was saying, “I will take whatever I can get. If I cannot have the church’s blessing, then let me at least have some blessing.”

He did receive a blessing, and he should make the best of it (Genesis 27:39-40). It was a real good, and better than he deserved. He was promised a fair living, the richness of the earth and the dew of heaven. Those who miss the covenant blessings may still receive many outward gifts. God gives good land and good weather to many who reject his covenant and have no share in it.

He was also promised, little by little, a return of freedom. If Jacob must rule (Genesis 27:29), Esau must serve. Yet he is comforted with this, he will live by his sword. He will serve, but he will not starve. After much struggle, he will break the yoke of bondage and show signs of freedom. This came true in 2 Kings 8:20, 22, when the Edomites rebelled.

Even so, his blessing fell far short of Jacob’s. God had kept something better for Jacob.

In Jacob’s blessing, the dew from heaven comes first, because that is what he valued most, wanted most, and trusted most. In Esau’s blessing, the richness of the land comes first, because that was what mattered most to him. Jacob looked first to God’s supply, while Esau looked first to earthly gain.

Esau did receive these gifts, but Jacob received them from God’s hand. God said, “May God give you the dew of heaven” (Genesis 27:28). For Esau, it was enough to possess the blessings, but Jacob wanted them by promise and from covenant love, meaning God’s special promise to his people.

Jacob would rule over his brothers, and in this way the Israelites often ruled over the Edomites. Esau would also gain some power and influence, but he would never rule over his brother. We do not find the Jews sold into Edomite hands, or oppressed by them in that way. The bigger difference is that nothing in Esau’s blessing points to Christ. Nothing in it brings him or his line into God’s covenant people, and without that, even great wealth would mean little.

So Isaac, by faith, blessed both sons according to their future place. Some also note that Jacob was blessed with a kiss (Genesis 27:27), but Esau was not.