What an odd contradiction in Jacob’s life, as it pertains to the Lord’s blessing Abraham, which has now been passed on to Jacob by his father, Isaac. Although the Lord promised Abraham and his descendants (viz. Jacob) that they would become a great nation (Genesis 12: 2), Jacob has had to flee the very land that was promised him through Abraham, because his life was in danger! When Abraham received the promise, he went out from Haran to settle in the land God gave him, but when Jacob received the promise, he had to flee the Land of Promise, and return to Haran, out of which Abraham was called (Genesis 12:1)!
As one considers the circumstances, it almost seems as though the Lord, himself, was taking the blessing away from Jacob. When Abraham was presented with the option of Isaac marrying Rebekah, but having to move away from the Promised Land to live in Haran, Abraham commanded his servant not to bring Isaac there, and, in fact, released his servant from his oath, if that was the only option (Genesis 24:5-8). So, contradiction upon contradiction seems to throw the blessing of God into confusion. Nevertheless, it was out of disorder and chaos that the Lord created the earth and all that was therein, and when he was finished, he claimed what transpired was very good (Genesis 1:1-2, 31).
In our previous study, Rebekah had gone to Isaac, asking him to send their son, Jacob, to Haran and to her brother, Laban, to get a wife, because the wives, which their son, Esau, had chosen from the land of Canaan, only grieved her spirit (Genesis 26:35). Why should Jacob choose a wife of this land also and weary both her life and Isaac’s even more (Genesis 27:43-46)? Therefore, Isaac called for Jacob, his son, and commanded him not to take a wife from the land of Canaan (Genesis 28:1). Instead, he was sending him to Pandan-aram, vis-à-vis the field of Aram, which was Haran, from where Abraham had left to come to the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-4). There, Jacob was to seek out the house of Bethuel, Rebekah’s father and take a wife from the daughters of Laban, her brother (Genesis 28:2).
Then Isaac blessed Jacob a second time with the blessing of Abraham, asking the Lord to confirm his promise, which he made with his father, Abraham, to Jacob, his son, making him a great nation and giving him the land in which he was a stranger on that day (Genesis 28:3-4). Thus, the blessing was confirmed. Through deceit, Jacob had obtained the promise the Lord made to Abraham, tricking his father Isaac, when he thought to bless Jacob’s brother, Esau (Genesis 27:18-29). Nevertheless, Isaac very much aware of whom he was blessing at this time, blessed his son, Jacob, with the promises God made to Abraham, confirming them to him openly, willingly and without regret, so that none could say that Jacob had stolen them or gained them by deceit. While this confirmation of the blessing didn’t excuse Jacob’s previous behavior, it did establish both the family birthright and blessings with him and not Esau.
Thus, Isaac sent his son, Jacob, away, out of the Land of Promise, seemingly a very contradictory thing to do, according to Abraham’s understanding (Genesis 24:8). Yet, it was done, and Jacob went to Padan-aram to seek out house Laban, the son of Bithuel, the Syrian, who was also his mother’s brother, and take a wife from his daughters. (Genesis 28:5; cp. verse-2). Jacob’s brother, Esau had taken a wife, when he was forty years old (Genesis 26:34), the same age their father, Isaac, had married Rebekah their mother (Genesis 24:20). Yet, Jacob had waited, presumably to allow his parents to choose a wife for him, as Abraham had done for Isaac, and now, around the age of 73,[1] Jacob was sent by Isaac to gain a wife out of his mother’s ancestral family.
__________________________________________
[1] See my earlier study: Isaac’s Old Age.
Smoodock's Blog 