Before we jump ahead to the problem of Jacob and Rebekah trying to deceive Isaac, today’s passage reminds us that Isaac wasn’t without sin himself. Back in Genesis 25:28, we learn that Isaac preferred his son Esau over his son Jacob, even though they were twins. Moreover, we learn that Isaac liked Esau best because he was an outdoorsman, a skilled hunter who brought tasty wild game to the family table.

So, why was this a problem? Well, before the twins were even born, God told Rebekah back in 25:23 that both boys would become the ancestors of great nations, but that “the older shall serve the younger.” That meant that the younger son Jacob should have received the blessing of God that Isaac inherited from his father Abraham.

Isaac could have chosen to obey God, and give his blessing to his younger son. But that didn’t make sense to him. Instead, he played favorites within his own family, primarily because of his physical desires, but perhaps also because of his failure to take his wife seriously – after all, God gave the prophecy to her instead of to him. It was his rejection of God’s Word that set all the following tension and deception in motion.

So, today, will we open our ears to hear God’s voice? Will we obey His Word? Or will we just do what makes sense to us?

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.
3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me,
4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”