Genesis 27:41 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, Esau’s bitter anger toward Jacob because of the blessing Jacob had received (Genesis 27:41). He followed the same path as Cain, who killed his brother because Abel had found favor with God, which Cain had lost through his own sin. Esau’s hatred had no fair reason. He hated Jacob only because his father blessed him and God loved him. The happiness of God’s people often stirs up envy in sinners. Those whom heaven blesses, hell curses.

His hatred was also cruel. Nothing less than murder would satisfy him. Persecutors thirst for the blood of the saints. He said, “I will kill my brother.” How could he speak those words without fear? How could he call Jacob brother and still plan his death? The rage of persecutors cannot be held back by even the strongest and most sacred bonds.

It was also a clever, calculating hatred. Esau expected Isaac would soon die, and then the two brothers would have to contend over their rights and interests, giving him a chance for revenge. He thought it was not enough to live by the sword himself (Genesis 27:40), unless his brother died by it too. He did not want to grieve his father while Isaac was alive, so he planned to wait until after his death. He cared little how much grief he would then leave for his mother.

This gives us several lessons. Some children are so bad that their good parents become a burden to them, and they long for the days of mourning. Bad people are often kept back from their evil plans by outside restraints, and so their purposes come to nothing. Those who think they can stop God’s plans will always be disappointed themselves. Esau wanted to stop Jacob, and Jacob’s future family, from having rule by killing him before he was married. But who can undo what God has spoken? People may resist God’s purpose, but they cannot change it.

Second, we see the way Rebekah tried to stop the trouble. She warned Jacob of his danger and told him to leave for a time and protect himself. She told him what she had heard of Esau’s plan, that he comforted himself with the thought of killing his brother (Genesis 27:42). Who would think such a savage thought could bring comfort to a man? If Esau had kept his plan secret, his mother might not have suspected it. But people’s boldness in sin often betrays them. Their rage is so strong that they cannot hide it, and “a bird of the air” carries the news.

Rebekah feared that she might lose both sons in one day (Genesis 27:45). She would lose the murdered son, and also the murderer, who would likely be brought to justice by the magistrate or by God’s direct hand. If not, she would still lose all peace and comfort in him. Once people are lost to virtue, they are in a sense lost to their friends as well. What joy can anyone have in a child who has become like a child of the devil?

Rebekah also hoped that if Jacob stayed away for a while, Esau’s sharp anger would slowly cool off. Distance in time and place often weakens strong feelings. She hoped his anger would turn away. Yielding can calm great offenses, and even those with a good cause and God on their side still need prudence and careful action for protection.

She also worked to move Isaac by pointing to another reason for Jacob’s trip, that he should go to her relatives to find a wife (Genesis 27:46). She did not tell Isaac about Esau’s evil plan against Jacob’s life, because she did not want to trouble him. Instead, she wisely took another path to reach her goal. Isaac was already displeased that Esau had married Hittite women, so Rebekah used that concern to push for a better marriage for Jacob. One failure should warn us against another. People are indeed careless if they stumble twice over the same stone.

Still, Rebekah seems to have spoken too strongly when she said, “What good will my life do me if Jacob marries a Canaanite?” Thanks be to God, our comfort does not rest in only one person. We can still do the duties of life and enjoy its blessings, even when things do not go as we want, or when our relatives are not pleasing in every way. Perhaps Rebekah spoke this way because she thought it was needed to stir Isaac to act quickly.

We should also notice that Jacob, though he was a good and thoughtful young man, still needed to be put out of the way of temptation. Even he could have been harmed by his brother’s bad example or drawn into danger through it. We must not trust too much even in children who seem most promising. Care must be taken to keep them away from harm.