Building the Patriarchs
The Patriarchs consisted of the male lineage that God used to create the nation of Israel – beginning with Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob. Jacob’s lineage gives rise to the ‘second line’ of Patriarchs, which consist of his twelve sons – the Patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Let’s look at the further events after Isaac’s birth that brought that to be…
When Isaac was approximately two years of age, making Ishmael about 16, Abraham threw a big party to celebrate the weaning of Isaac. And that’s when the trouble begins:
…Sarah saw Ishmael – the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my own son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” Gn. 21:9, 10. NLT
Abraham was extremely upset because Ishmael was his son as well. However, God came to Abraham to soothe him, saying:
“Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son too.” Gn. 21:12, 13. NLT
I doubt Abraham was comforted. Yet, he was obedient to God and sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
Hagar and Ishmael are crossing the desert and they run out of water. She places Ishmael in the shade of a nearby bush, and then sits not too far away and begins to cry. Then, the angel of God calls to her from heaven:
“Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” Gn. 21:17, 18. NLT
God provides a water well; they make it across the desert, and God fulfills His promise to Hagar:
And God was with the boy as he grew up…His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. Gn. 21:20, 21. NLT
Abraham receives his greatest test of faith:
…God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” Gn. 22:1 NLT
That’s Abraham. Ready and willing to answer God’s commands. (Note that it is Abraham who is to be tested, not Isaac.) Jehovah continues:
“Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Gn. 22:2 NLT
Abraham packed up his donkey with firewood, had Isaac carry it, and brought along two servants. When they reached 1/3 of the way, Abraham told the servants to stay with the donkey, and tells them that he and his son were going to worship, and then return to them.
Along the way, Isaac asked his father the whereabouts of the sheep for the burnt offering. Abraham replied:
“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son…” Gn. 22:8 NLT
You might be wondering why Abraham seems so nonchalant about this process. We can take a Christian divergent leap to the New Testament for an explanation:
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. Heb. 11:17 – 19. NLT
And this is born out in this event, but with a very different twist. When Abraham and Isaac arrived where God had directed them, Abraham built an altar, arrayed the wood on top, and tied Isaac onto the top. Isaac doesn’t say anything.
Abraham pulled out a knife to complete the sacrifice, when suddenly the angel of the LORD shouted out from heaven:
“Abraham! Abraham!
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” Gn. 22:11 NLT
“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Gn. 22:12 NLT
Consider what we are reading here. Is God not omniscient? Jehovah arranged this event as a ‘faith lesson’ for all future time…
When Abraham heard the angel, he looked up and spotted a ram with its horns entangled in a nearby undergrowth. He retrieved the ram and released Isaac, to that the ram became the sacrifice provided by God.
Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed – all because you have obeyed me. Gn. 22:15 – 18. NLT
So, in addition to all the blessings of multitudinous descendants, who will be doing God’s work by educating people how to have a great life by revealing Jehovah’s moral imperatives, He will also fortify them to be able to conquer those who would attempt to thwart their mission.
The family plot:
Sarah died when she was 127 years old. Abraham bought a parcel of land with a cave on it, (cave of Machpelah) in Canaan. He purchased it from the Hittites, (one of the peoples that made up the Canaanites). It is of great significance to the Jews because the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and his son Jacob, would be buried there, as well as three matriarchs.
Abraham marries off his son:
It seems that Isaac is a bit slack about finding a bride so that his father’s descendants will perpetuate. So, Abraham, who is getting really old, decides his son needs some help. He calls his servant to him and instructs him to find a wife for Isaac, but not from the Canaanites, but from the region of Mesopotamia:
“Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” Gn. 24:4 NLT
The servant takes 10 camels and some of Abraham’s treasures and travels to the city of Nahor (named after Abraham’s brother). He settles by a well just outside of the city at a time the women would come to draw water. There, he prays to God, asking Him to send the right girl for Isaac, to grace Abraham, and let his servant know, if, when he asks for a drink of water, will do so, and then will offer to water his camels as well. It would take almost two hours to properly water those camels. So, this would be a great act of kindness and grace from the girl.
After he had just finished praying, a beautiful maiden approached with a water jar. And she does everything Abraham’s servant prayed for. He was assured she was the one. So, he gave her gifts of a gold nose ring and two gold arm bands.
He asked her whose daughter she was. She, Rebecca, informed him that she was the daughter of Abraham’s nephew, making her Isaac’s second cousin. The servant follows by asking Rebecca if he and his camels, (and apparently some servants of his own), could stay for the evening at her father’s house. She invited him to do so.
Once there, the servant relays all of Abraham’s commands to her father and brother, his own prayers, and how all these events manifested with his meeting with Rebecca. And then he asks the family if they would allow him to take her to Isaac to be married. They tried to stall him a bit to wrangle a few more gifts out of him, but Rebecca stepped up and closed the deal.
Isaac then took her as wife.[1]
Abraham is laid to rest:
Abraham died at the age of 175 years and was buried with his wife. Ishmael and Isaac are reunited to complete the deed.
After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac… Gn. 25:11 NLT
(After this Scripture, there is a description of Ishmael’s lineage, and then mention of his death at 137 years of age.)[2]
The battle between the twins:
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca. Unfortunately, she was barren. Isaac prayed that she would conceive, and she did, but 20 years would pass before it was manifested.
The children struggled within her womb. Troubled, she inquired of Jehovah. He answers:
“The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” Gn. 25:23 NLT
Even at birth, the boys were different (fraternal twins) and contentious:
The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Gn. 25:25, 26. NLT
As they grow up, each parent’s favoritism enforces the contention between the boys:
As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Gn. 25:27, 28. NLT
Esau sells his birthright:
One day, Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in famished from a day in the woods, declaring that he was starving and asked his brother for some of his stew. Jacob saw an opening to try to gain some advantage over Esau by asking him for his birthright (rights given to the firstborn son), in exchange for the stew. Esau responded:
“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” Gn. 25:32 NLT
Esau swore an oath to sell all his rights as the firstborn to Jacob for his stew, and then he ate it, and left. The outcome?
He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Gn. 25:34 NLT
God blesses Isaac:
Isaac’s home was in the city of Gerar, a Philistine town in modern-day south-central Israel. A famine had hit, and so Isaac was going to go to Egypt (like his father Abraham did when an earlier famine struck), but God told him to stay where he was:
“Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” Gn. 26 3 – 5. NLT
What God is doing here is passing the Abrahamic covenant onto Isaac.
And blessed Isaac was:
When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. Gn. 26:12, 13. NLT
God comes to Isaac and again reinforces His blessing:
“I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” Gn. 26:24 NLT
Returning to the twins:
The rebellious heart of Esau begins to manifest:
At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives…But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. Gn. 26:34, 35. NLT
Esau purposely married pagan Canaanite women rather than going to Rebecca’s family region to marry godly ones. God’s plans held no value for him…
Isaac was now getting old, his eyesight was failing, and he wanted to prepare for what might be an imminent death. He would do so by first passing on his birthright blessing onto Esau, (unaware that Esau sold his birthright, and thus forfeiting his ability to receive the associated birthright blessing). (See Heb. 12:16, 17.)
Isaac calls Esau to him, but he can’t see him well enough to accurately distinguish his identity. Yet he trusts him when he identifies himself. Isaac tells him that he is old and unsure of when death will visit him. He asks Esau to go hunt wild game and prepare his favorite dish and bring it to him. Consequently, he tells his firstborn son, that he will pronounce his blessing over him.[3]
Rebecca overhears this conversation and relays it to Jacob. She hatches a plan, not forgetting that God told her the older son would serve the younger.[4] Rebecca tells Jacob to bring her two baby goats from the herd and says that she will prepare a dish for him to serve to his father, to receive the blessing before Isaac dies. Jacob protests that he is not hairy like his brother, and that Isaac will suspect foul play. His mother runs him off to do what she says.
Jacob returns with the goats, she prepares the dish, puts a suit of Esau’s finest clothes onto Jacob (so he would smell like Esau), and then covers his hands and neck with the goat skins, gives him the prepared dish and sends him off to his father.[5]
Jacob enters Isaac’s room, who asks, ‘…which of my sons are you?’ Gn. 27:18 NLT
Jacob replies:
“It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” Gn. 27:19 NLT
Isaac asks him how he could have found the game so quickly, and Jacob tells him that God put it in his path. Isaac then bids his son to come close to him so that he can discern what son it is. He thinks the voice sounds like Jacob but rubbing his ‘hairy hands’ leads him to mostly believe that it is Esau.
Isaac asks for the meal, and as he does so, he asks Jacob (thinking he’s Esau), for a kiss, whereupon he could smell the scent of Esau on his clothes. So, Isaac pronounces his blessing:
“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.” Gn. 27:28, 29. NLT
Almost immediately after Jacob left the room, Esau returns from his hunt, prepares the wild game, and brings it to his father, asking him to eat it and to bless him. Isaac is terrified when he realizes what he had been tricked into doing and tells Esau what has occurred. Esau is beside himself:
“Oh my father, what about me? Bless me too!” Gn. 27:34 NLT
Isaac replies: “Your Brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” Gn. 27:35 NLT
Esau moans: “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?” Gn. 27:36 NLT
Isaac replies: “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine – what is left for me to give you my son?” Gn. 27:37 NLT
(Jacob will have no additional brothers; thus, Isaac is stressing the vast sweeping authority he conferred upon him.)
Esau pleads one more time: “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. Gn. 27:38 NLT
Isaac concedes: “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above. You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.” Gn. 27:39, 40. NLT
How does this all set with Esau?
From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” Gn. 27:41 NLT
Somehow, Rebecca hears of Esau’s intentions and tells Jacob to prepare to flee to her brother Laban’s house – located in upper Mesopotamia (modern-day southeastern Turkey). And surprisingly, Isaac calls for Jacob and blesses him:
“You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” Gn. 28:1 – 4. NLT
So, Jacob travels towards his uncle Laban’s house and the first night during his journey, he stopped and made camp. He rested for the evening. And then a wondrous thing happened:
As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” Gn. 28:12 – 15. NLT
What is happening here? In Jacob’s night vision, God transfers the Abrahamic covenant upon him! Now, the perpetuation of the Patriarchal line is ensured.
Upon awakening, Jacob understood the significance of his vision; and he says:
“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” Gn. 28:16, 17. NLT
[1] Gn. 24:5 – 67.
[2] Gn. 25:12 – 18.
[3] Gn. 27:1-4
[4] Gn. 25:23
[5] Gn. 27:5 – 17.