Genesis 27:14-26

¹⁴ And he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made tasty food, the kind that his father loved.

¹⁵ Also, Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her larger son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her smaller son.

¹⁶ And she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck the skins of the young goats.

¹⁷ And she set the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you said to me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may give a blessing to me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “What is this, why did you find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God made it come to me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Draw near me now, so that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

²² And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him.

²⁴ He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Draw near and kiss me, my son.” _________________________________________

undeserved blessing

One of the surprising features of Genesis is that many of its central figures are deeply flawed. Abraham stumbled in faith, Isaac showed favoritism, Rebekah orchestrated deception, Jacob manipulated others, and Esau treated his birthright carelessly. The account of Jacob receiving Isaac’s blessing is not primarily a celebration of cleverness or dishonesty. Rather, it reveals the mysterious and sovereign work of God, who accomplishes his purposes even through imperfect people and complicated circumstances.

At first glance, the story seems troubling because deception plays such a large role in the outcome. Rebekah devises the plan, Jacob carries it out, and Isaac is misled into giving the blessing to the younger son instead of the older. Yet long before these events unfolded, God had already declared that “the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). The blessing Jacob received was not ultimately secured by human scheming. God had already determined the outcome according to his own purpose. The deception was sinful and brought painful consequences to the family, but it did not overturn or create God’s plan. Instead, it demonstrates that divine purposes stand firm even when human beings act wrongly.

This would have been an important lesson for Israel. The nation descended from Jacob, whose very life testified that God’s grace is not based on human merit. Neither Jacob nor Esau could claim to deserve the covenant blessing. Esau showed little regard for spiritual inheritance, while Jacob sought it through sinful means. If the blessing depended on personal worthiness, neither brother would have received it. The story therefore directs attention away from the brothers themselves and toward the God who freely chooses to show mercy.

Throughout Scripture, this pattern appears again and again. God chooses the unlikely, the weak, and the undeserving so that his grace may be clearly seen. He selected the younger over the older, shepherds over kings, and sinners over the self-righteous. His saving purposes are never the result of human achievement but of divine mercy. God’s grace does not reward deserving people; it creates a people who have nothing to boast about except his kindness.

For believers, Jacob’s story is both humbling and encouraging. It is humbling because it reminds us that no one earns God’s favor. It is encouraging because God’s grace reaches people whose failures and weaknesses seem to disqualify them. The God who chose Jacob continues to gather a people for himself, not because they are the obvious choice, but because he delights to magnify the riches of his mercy. The Lord’s people can therefore rejoice that their standing with him rests not on their worthiness but on his gracious and sovereign love.

LORD, we celebrate your grace today. We thank you that you chose us – though we were the “wrong” choice. You have determined to make us Jacobs, your Israel.