Genesis

Abraham takes another wife, Ketura (v1), and has six more sons (v2). Two of the sons have more children (vv3-4), and one of those (Dedan) begat a fourth generation (v3), of which three sons are named. This possibly indicates tribes of peoples who became known in the region. Because of Abraham's advanced age at Sarah's death (137) and that he lived for 38 more years (v7), speculation is understandable about whether Abraham married Ketura or fathered sons with other concubines (v6) before Sarah's death. But Isaac would have been age 75 and Ishmael 88 when they buried their father Abraham, and there is no need to speculate about whether Abraham or God intended Isaac to be the blessed heir. Abraham sent away all other sons while he was still living (v6), and after Abraham's death, God blessed Isaac (v11). The seven verses that follow Abraham's death list the twelve sons and tribes of Ishmael (vv12-18). This closes out Ishmael's record in Scripture. As verse 19 begins, "Now these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son," no genealogy follows. This marks the opening of Isaac's sole prominence in the Biblical account of history. Isaac's generations comes in the narrative leading to all future generations of the line of Christ. Isaac may seem to have the shortest written history of the Patriarchs, but Isaac is a part of this history from the beginning with Abraham. God refers to Isaac in His first conversation with Abraham (12:2), and even by name (17:19), seventy-six years before he becomes the second Patriarch.

In response to another famine (Gen 12:10-20), Isaac returns to the city of Gerar, where Abraham had deceived Abimelech into thinking Sarah was his sister (Gen 20). Similarly, lacking the faith to know God would protect him, Isaac does the same thing - in the same place - to the same person and people. Isaac did not have the benefits of Christ's Words, but we can consider them as we read of Isaac's deception: "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light." (Lk 8:17, also Mark 4:22). What Isaac hid, became evident when King Abimelech observes him "caressing" his wife Rebekah. "Conjugal caresses" (צָחַק ṣeḥōq) ironically also means laughter and uses the same root as Isaac's name (יִצְחָק yiṣ·ḥāq - laughter). Abimelech's subsequent command to the Philistines (v11) corrected a lie that had been told for a long time (v8). It also effectively restored Isaac's conjugal right to his wife. Then something interesting happens in verse 12 - Isaac sowed and reaped one hundredfold. "Reap (מָצָא matzah - to attain, find)" is used with the idea of attaining to, arriving at, a resting place; of marriage; of finding a place for temple, and to find/gain/secure favor in the eyes of 1) men; 2) what is lost; 3) judgment; 4) knowledge of God; and 5) wisdom. The immediate circumstance preceding Isaac's blessing from Yahweh was the revelation of Isaac's lie about Rebekah. The change in Isaac's circumstance was that he was reconciled to a right (honest) relationship with his fellow man. He regained what was lost with his wife. The king's judgment freed him from the threat of violence. His faith in God was affirmed. And his knowledge of God increased, adding to his wisdom. Mark 4:20, Matthew 13:8,23, and Luke 8:8 each deliver the harvest results following Christ's Parable of the Sower. See how much more context we have for the hundredfold harvest in this parable, knowing the very first application of this principle in Scripture. The hundredfold harvest is a blessing that follows reconciliation to a right relationship with the truth, man, and God. Luke and Mark both continue the Parable of the Sower, tying the revelation of hidden/secret things (see above) to the mystery (Luke 8:10).

This chapter of the Bible prompts us to look into the past to gain perfect context. The most obvious prompts are those referenced by the central members of the chapter. Here detailed are the further deceptions of the Patriarchs. Indeed, there is a theme of lies and deception that was first seen at the very beginning of the Bible (Gen 3:1-7). After deceiving their father to steal Esau's blessing (vv10, 35), Jacob is also rightly recalled to have stolen his birthright as well (Gen 25:32). But just as in Genesis 24, where the context was bracketed by the last verse of the previous chapter and its final verse, the same occurs here in Genesis 27. Genesis 26 closes with the problem that typifies the great lament of history. It begets a people who are to be enemies of Israel: Esau took wives from among the Hittites (the people of Heth), and it brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah (26:34-35). This bitterness (רוּחַ מֹרָה ruh morah) was a state of misery and anguish closely identified with the Spirit of the Lord Himself. On the other end of the bracket, the final verse of Genesis 27 is Rebekah's closing lament after successfully perpetrating the deception that grants Isaac's blessing to Jacob instead of Esau: "I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth" (46). Esau's choice to dishonor God and his family by marrying people of another god, disqualified him from the blessings of Abraham and Yahweh. Rebekah and Jacob, despite the means by which they accomplished their objective, were simply fulfilling God's plan for His blessing to continue through a righteous line.

Isaac immediately responds to Rebekah's distress from the previous chapter by calling Jacob and telling him he will not do the same thing his brother Esau had done (take a wife from the daughters of Canaan). To reinforce this, he sends him away to marry his cousin, from the same place the faithful servant of Abraham had gone to retrieve his (Isaac's) bride. Esau's response seems to indicate that he had been unaware his actions marrying the daughters of Heth would be displeasing to Isaac and Rebekah, but marriages did not come without significant preparation and exchanges of wealth, so it is unlikely that they would not have had the opportunity to warn him previously of their disapproval. More likely, the gesture of marrying a daughter from Abraham's line (Ishmael) might have seemed conciliatory to Esau. After Jacob departs, on his way, he stops to rest. The dream he has during this stop is better known as the vision of Jacob's Ladder. Jacob's vow (v20) following this vision is also telling. The "if-then" context (vv20-21) seems to suggest that Jacob was still a long way from the faith in God that his father and grandfather hoped to pass to the generation that would carry the blessings of Yahweh to all future generations (v14).