There are several descriptions of two brothers in the Bible and also of two
sister's descriptions of why their Creator chose another one of them.
It has always been a choice based on grace of Adonai and not on merit.
We notice it especially in the accurate story of Jacob and Esau.
Isaac chose Esau, but Rebecca and Adonai chose Jacob!
It is worth noting that the wife was right in this point as well and her husband Isaak was wrong. The same happened with Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, because Abraham resented Sarah's request to drive Ishmael and Hagar away from them. Adonai therefore told Abraham to listen to Sarah in everything. Only Isaac was the promised heir!
Sarah remembered Adonai's promise to Abraham that only Isaac would be their heir. In the same way, Rebecca must have remembered the promise she received at birth that Esau the older, of her twins must serve Jacob the younger! Here we see that there was a good reason that our Creator created a wife to man's help.
What kind of blessing did Esau really receive?
In this regard, the English, Lamsa Peshitta translation and Finnish translations differ a lot from each other. That's why it's good to look at them separately and think about which of them might be the most correct and original? So it is about the verses Gen. 27:38-40
A) KJV (1982)
38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,
Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; [(the fatness) : or, of the fatness] 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
B) CJB (1998)
38 Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Father, bless me too!" 'Esau wept aloud. 39 and Yitz'hack his father answered him:
"Here! Your home will be of the richness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above. 40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will shake his yoke off your neck."
C) NET (2001)
C) NET (2001)
38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!" Then Esau wept loudly. 39 So his father Isaac said to him,
"Indeed, your home will be away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the sky above. 40 You will live by your sword but you will serve your brother. When you grow restless, you will tear off his yoke from your neck."
D) Peshitta (George M. Lamsa, 22nd ed. 1981)
38 And Esau said to his father, Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 And Isaac his father answered and said to him,
Bebold, your dwelling shall be in the fertile places of the earth, and the dew of heaven shall fall upon you from above; 40 And by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but if you shall repent, his yoke shall pass away from off your neck.
E) RK2012 (Finnish Bible 2012)
38 Esau said to his father: "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Father, bless me too!" And Esau began to weep loudly. 39 His father Isaac answered:
"Without the abundance of the earth is your abode, without the dew of heaven. 40 You live by your sword and serve your brother. But wandering loosely, you break his yoke from your neck."
The reader will notice that the Peshitta translation is significantly different from the other highlighted translations due to its more 'merciful' blessing. Since our Elohim is merciful, I think it is justified that he gave Esau the opportunity to repent as a condition for his descendants to be freed from the dominion of his brother Jacob's descendants. However, the Tanakh says that Esau's descendants, i.e. the Edomites, did not repent, but constantly held hatred towards their brother Jacob's descendants, i.e. the Israelites.
That is why Edom was finally destroyed as a nation, as shown in the attached image text. Because of their continued hatred of Israel, the old promise given to Abram and his descendants, Isaac, Jacob and his descendants Israel, that all who bless them shall be blessed and those who curse them shall be cursed: 1. Moos. 12:1-3
>>1 Now Adonai had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.<<
This true story is a very serious warning also to all Gentile nations about how they treat Israel and the Israelites. So it is a choice between a blessing and a curse. Only the wise bless Israel and the Israelites and based on that they receive a blessing from Adonai!
>>1 Now Adonai had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.<<
This true story is a very serious warning also to all Gentile nations about how they treat Israel and the Israelites. So it is a choice between a blessing and a curse. Only the wise bless Israel and the Israelites and based on that they receive a blessing from Adonai!
Why was Adonai pleased with Jacob?
Humanly speaking, Jacob was greedy and betrayed his brother Esau twice. He first bought the birthright from him with brown lentil soup, and then, at his mother's request, fraudulently usurped from Esau the blessing that belongs to the firstborn, against his Father's will, even at the risk of a curse and losing his life. Jacob wanted that his descendants would be blessed.
That is why Jacob's betrayals were pleasing to Adonai. Jacob valued Adonai's promises and pursued them at any cost. He was actually selfless, although he is thought to be selfish. Esau, on the other hand - after selling his birthright for lentil soup - considered it cheap to receive the blessing of his ancestors as the firstborn for his descendants. He realized his mistake too late.
Adonai also taught Jacob, chastising him severely for his greed so that he had to serve as a slave to his relative Laban for 14 years to get his daughters as wives and another 6 years to get his own herd of cattle. It was all behind hard work, pain and sweat, and besides, Laaban cheated him by changing his salary 10 times! That's how Jacob learned what it feels like to be betrayed!
The case of Esau is an important lesson for us that we take good care of our descendants and leave for them as a legacy, especially true faith in Adonai! Let's not be like Esau, who didn't care about his descendants, he thought more about his own welfare. The biggest mistake he made was that he underestimated his birthright and the future of his descendants.
Esau lost his firsborn's blessing to Jacob, when he changed his rigth as firstborn to the lentil soup. That's why the birthright and blessing were already legally Jacob's, even though Isaac thought otherwise. Even today, many parents ruining the future of their offspring by preventing them from seeking the truth and denying them and their descendants the chance to be saved.
Do you want to gain Adonai's favor?
You achieve it through obedience to faith by obeying the teachings of Adonai Yeshua, which you find in the NT and especially in the chapters of the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5, 6 and 7. As Esau sold his birthright and also lost his birthright blessing, so will happen to us too, if we do not care about the gospel that is proclaimed to us! Only those who hear it and obey it are blessed!
It is extremely important to verify the teachings of our Savior HaMashiach Yeshua and the NT, in Mark 16:15-16 - John 3:36 - John 17:3 - Acts 2:38-39 - Rom. 10:9-10 - Hebr. 10:14-17
Mark 16:15-16 >>15 And he (Yeshua) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.<<
John 3:36 >>The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but Elohim's wrath remains on him.<<
John 17:3 >>Now this is eternal life - that they know you, the only true Elohim, and Yeshua HaMashiach, whom you sent.<<
Acts 2:38-39 >>38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as Adonai our Elohim will call to himself."<<
Rom. 10:9-10 >>9 because if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Adonai and believe in your heart that Elohim raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.<<
Hebr. 10:14-17 >>14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, 16 "This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says Adonai. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds," 17 then he says, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer."<<
Let us especially remember the following teaching of Yeshua!
Mark 12:28-31 Regarding the greatest commandments
>>28 Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
29 Yeshua answered, "The most important is: 'Listen, Israel, Yehowah our Elohim, Yehowah is one. 30 Love Yehowah your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."<<
Songs suitable for the topic
Please note: Our Savior's original name in Hebrew is Yeshua HaMashiach HaNotzri
A Prayer For Israel
Remember
There's a Promise Coming down That Dusty Road
Through The Years
Love your neighbor / This is brilliant!
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