We now fast forward to Isaac’s last days.
Currently 135 years old and blind, Isaac realizes the time has come to hand down the traditional family blessing to his firstborn son Esau.
This blessing consisted of the majority of the family’s wealth as well as the authority to rule the family.
Isaac was not aware of Esau’s stupid decision to sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup and apparently Esau kept what he did a secret.
Hence, when Isaac ordered Esau to go hunting for some fresh meat for the blessing, Esau said nothing about the deal he had made with his brother Isaac.
Esau may have thought he was being clever and cunning but his brother and mother at this time were also devising some crafty plans of their own.
In the events that followed, it turns out the name Jacob proved to be quite prophetic.
In Hebrew, Jacob literally means “heel catcher”.
This is because when Esau popped out of Rebecca’s womb, Jacob followed right behind him clutching on to his heel.
You’re probably thinking…
…how in the heck is the name “heel catcher” prophetic?
The answer is because “heel catcher” is actually an ancient Hebrew idiom that simply means “deceiver”.
And how exactly did Jacob deceive Esau?
We all know the story.
He disguised himself by putting on a coat of fur to dupe his father into believing he was indeed the hairy firstborn Esau.
The ploy worked and Isaac ended up blessing Jacob instead of Esau.
When Esau returned from his hunt he was devastated, got down on his knees and begged his father to reverse the blessing.
I know a lot of you may be thinking why was it so impossible for Isaac to reverse the blessing he had bestowed upon Jacob…especially after he found out he was duped into doing so?
The only answer I can give to that question is that’s just the way things were done in the ancient Middle East.
A blessing of this magnitude and importance was irreversible for any reason.
Because of what happened, Rebecca was well aware that after Isaac passed away, Esau would attempt to kill Jacob because of his deceit.
To protect her son, she tells Jacob to pack up and escape off to the far north in Mesopotamia where his uncle Laban lived.
This would mark a new chapter in the life of Jacob.
Hi there, just wanted to bring to attention a slight error. It is written, “This is because when Esau popped out of Rachel’s womb, Jacob followed right behind him clutching on to his heel.” But I believe you meant Rebekah’s womb. Just wanted to bring this to attention.
Thanks for catching that for me. This has been fixed. Be blessed and SHALOM!
Can you please provide the reference that “heel catcher” is an ancient idiom for “deceiver”?
Also, where in the Bible do you find that Esau didn’t tell Isaac about selling his birthright?