Genesis 27

Isaac’s Scheme, Rebekah’s Plan, and God’s Blessing

Genesis 27 begins with Isaac old and nearly blind, calling Esau in secret to pass on the blessing before he dies. But it is not just his eyesight that is failing. The text hints that Isaac is no longer walking with clarity in step with Yahweh’s word.

His plan to bless Esau is driven by his appetite. He asks for wild game that he loves so much, and he schemes to bless Esau in secret behind closed doors. This is not just a private moment. It is an intentional move to sidestep what Yahweh had already declared in chapter 25: the older shall serve the younger.

Isaac knows this, but he wants to bless Esau anyway because Esau gives him the food he loves. The words spoken by Yahweh in 25:23 and the words spoken by Isaac in 27:29 serve as bookends for the entire episode. Yahweh declares that the older will serve the younger, and by the end, Isaac, despite all his efforts, affirms that very outcome.

This kind of framing is sometimes called an inclusio, a literary device that marks the beginning and end of a passage to draw attention to the unity and purpose of what is inside. In this case, it shows that Isaac is attempting to overturn Yahweh’s word, but Yahweh brings it to pass all the same.

Despite Isaac’s attempt to act in secrecy, Rebekah overhears the conversation and acts swiftly. She tells Jacob what she overheard and gives him direct instructions. Bring two young goats, and she will prepare a dish just the way Isaac loves. She also tells Jacob, “Listen to my voice.”

That phrase appears three times in the chapter, always spoken by Rebekah, and it stands out. It echoes earlier parts of Genesis where Yahweh rebukes Adam for listening to Eve in Genesis 3. A second time is where Yahweh tells Abraham to listen to the voice of his wife in Genesis 21:12.

Rebekah’s voice fits more closely with this. She sees that Isaac is about to bless the wrong son, and she moves quickly to stop it. Rebekah’s motives are never explained. However, back in Genesis 25:28, we are told that Isaac loved Esau because of the food he brought and that Rebekah loved Jacob.

That detail is not random. It prepares us to read her actions here as driven by personal loyalty, not necessarily theological conviction. Her love for Jacob, not covenantal faithfulness, is the most immediate and visible reason she intervenes.

Still, she may also have seen that Esau was unfit for the blessing. He sold his birthright and married two Canaanite women. The text does not say what her motives were. It simply shows her stepping in. What is clear is that her actions end up in line with what Yahweh had spoken to her when she was pregnant with the twins: the older will serve the younger.

So, while her method is flawed and her motives likely mixed, her direction ends up aligned with the promise. In a very real sense, Rebekah and Jacob are not stealing the blessing. Without realising it, they are ensuring it goes to the son Yahweh had chosen to bless.

Jacob hesitates, not because he believes deception is wrong, but because the plan might backfire. He is worried about being caught and cursed. Rebekah’s response is striking: “Your curse be on me, my son.” She is willing to carry the risk if it means securing the outcome. So the plan moves forward.

Rebekah prepares the food, dresses Jacob in Esau’s garments, and covers his smooth skin with goat hair. It is a scheme designed to fool Isaac’s failing senses. But if we take a step back, the whole thing is barely believable. Goat skins to imitate a man’s body. A son pretending to be his brother while still sounding exactly like himself. A blind father, already suspicious, persuaded by smell and touch.

From a human point of view, it is a ridiculous plan. It should not have worked. And yet it does. That is the point. The plan’s success does not showcase Rebekah’s cunning or Jacob’s skill. It showcases Yahweh’s sovereignty. He allowed the deception to succeed, not because He approved of it, but because He had chosen Jacob.

His word in Genesis 25:23 was clear: the older would serve the younger, and no amount of human scheming, stumbling, or failing would stop that. The weakness of the plan only makes His control more obvious. He did not need to use deceit to bring about His will, but He was not hindered by it either. Even through this ridiculous plan, Yahweh was moving everything toward the fulfilment of what He had spoken.

Verses 25 to 29 are the turning point of the chapter. Isaac eats, drinks, and blesses the son in front of him. And though the blessing is given through deception, it cannot be undone. It is full of covenant language: abundance from the land, dominion over nations, and the echo of Yahweh’s words to Abraham, “Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.”

Most significant of all is the line, “Be master of your brothers.” That is Yahweh’s promise from chapter 25, now spoken out loud and made permanent. Isaac may have been trying to bless Esau, but Yahweh ensured the blessing went to Jacob.

As soon as Jacob leaves, Esau walks in. The timing could not be tighter. He has prepared the game, expecting a joyful moment, but he is too late. The plan Isaac hatched with Esau has already unravelled. He trembles violently. What he intended has collapsed at the last moment, and he knows he cannot undo what has been done. “Indeed, he shall be blessed,” he says. The words have already been spoken, and they cannot be taken back.

Esau’s reaction is raw and emotional. He weeps and begs for a blessing. He accuses Jacob of being a deceiver, though he leaves out his own part in selling the birthright and his marriage to the Canaanite women. His sorrow is real, but it is not repentance. He wants the benefits of the covenant, not the God who gave it.

Isaac does speak a word over him, but it sounds more like a prophecy than a blessing, a reversal of the blessing he had given to Jacob moments earlier. Esau’s bitterness turns to rage. He plans to kill Jacob after Isaac dies.

Once again, Rebekah steps in. She sends Jacob away to her brother Laban in Haran and urges him to stay there until Esau’s anger passes. Her language repeats what she said earlier: “Listen to my voice.”

And in her final words in Genesis, she raises a different concern, the danger of Jacob marrying a Canaanite woman as Esau had. That concern is real, but she is also acting with another motive, protecting Jacob from being murdered. Her appeal to Isaac is not just about marriage. It is about preserving the line of promise. In doing so, she calls Isaac back to what he should have done all along: guard the covenant by guiding his sons rightly.

Genesis 27 is full of tension, competing agendas, and self-serving choices. But through it all, Yahweh’s word holds firm. He declared before the twins were born that the older would serve the younger, and now it has happened.

Just as He said, Isaac tried to bless the wrong son, driven by his appetite and his love for the one who brought him the food he craved. Rebekah schemed to bring Jacob in, not out of covenant conviction, but to protect the son she loved. Esau wept and raged over what he had already despised.

But Yahweh overruled every motive and every action. His word stood. The blessing fell on Jacob, not because he deserved it, but because Yahweh had chosen him.

This is the centre of the story. Not that the right people made the right choices, but that Yahweh remained faithful to what He had spoken.

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