In Gen 25:23 Rebecca was told: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your body. And one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”  Surely, she shared this message from the mouth of our Creator with her husband. Together they must have imagined how this would play out.

But then things changed.  For us, reading about it in Genesis and viewing the situation from the outside, it seems as if Isaac loved Esau more despite the above prophecy from the Father.  What happened to make Isaac love Esau more than Jacob?  We can only consider this from our perspective.

Could Isaac not discern that Esau was impulsive – a man acting impulsively without considering the consequences of his decisions?  After all, Esau sold his birthright in Gen 25:29-34, putting his appetite, his nefesh, above his birthright.  He married not one, but two Hittite woman, causing a bitterness of spirit in Rebecca and Isaac (Gen 26:35).

Gen 26:25 makes you think… Why does it say: “Rebecca and Isaac” and not “Isaac and Rebecca”? The order makes it clear that Rebecca was more upset about this than Isaac. If you recall the reading of the week before about the choice of a bride for Isaac, we see that Rebecca was selected not for her beauty, but rather for her character.  She was an image bearer that would support her husband, Isaac’s ezer kenegdo – his suitable helper – as was planned from the beginning of creation (Gen 2:18).

Esau, on the other hand, did not reflect the image of our Creator. In him the covenantal blessing could not continue, yet his father, Isaac, loved him. Could it be that he loved Esau for the game (meat) he provided?

Did Esau bear Isaac’s image? Both were willing to exchange what was not theirs for food, it seems. It does not appear that Isaac merely loved Esau and his brother equally; seemingly Isaac was willing to give Esau the blessing he knew the Father had reserved for Jacob.

We are led to the conclusion that Isaac and Esau had a very special father-son relationship.  This becomes clear in their reactions after the deception of Jacob for “stealing” the blessing. Isaac trembled exceedingly and Esau cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry. This is the first description of human emotion in the Bible that I can recall.

To bear God’s image means to reflect something of God’s nature and character to the rest of creation.  Did Isaac bear God’s image?  I absolutely think so!

It is as if our heavenly Father gives us a glimpse of Himself through Isaac.  I see a father that had two sons that he loved. The one was a problem child, but the father still loved him. The son sinned, yet his father loved him. The son did things against his parents’ wishes, yet his father loved him – because, despite everything, he was still his son.

Isaac is reflecting a facet of our Father’s likeness. We see the part of His character that is highlighted in the parable of the Prodigal Son: a father who never turns his back on a rebellious son.

This gives us hope.  Although from time to time we rebel, although we claim power that is not ours, and give away that which is not ours to give, the Father still loves us and wants to have a meal with us.

I would like to leave you with this question: Was Esau all bad?

Do we always honor and stick to our commitments? Or do we sometimes find a reason not to honor them?

Esau did not later deny selling his birthright. He was committed to what he had sworn – a man of his word.  If we take this into account, maybe Isaac trembled in the knowledge that Esau might eventually kill his brother. After all, Esau was a man of his word.

From Isaac’s reaction we see a father that loved both his sons, no matter what.